Of Stealing and Slavery
by Winged-Violoncelle
Summary: Okay, so maybe stealing wasn't the best way to revenge... But how did it go THIS wrong? How did he end up being a slave instead? Let's add some chores, moronic fangirls, crazy truth or dare, and a he that was not a he. Kyo/OC/Hunny, Tama/Haru. COMPLETE!
1. Akazawa Natsu

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ouran H. S. Host Club.

**Summary:**  
Okay, so maybe stealing wasn't the ideal way to revenge on someone - especially when that someone was a Shadow King Ootori Kyouya. But he didn't expect it to go _this_ wrong! How did he end up being a worthless _slave _instead? Oh, and if that doesn't sound bad enough... he was not even a he.

KyouyaxOCxHunny(mild), TamakixHaruhi

**Very severe spoilers in later chapters :D! Be prepared XD!**

_My first attempt at Ouran. Read on. Please don't flame just because I have an OC._

_And please **review**._

* * *

Luxury 1 – Akazawa Natsu

"Welcome!"

Akazawa Natsu did not know where he was, or how he got there.

He was just… there. Roses. Perfume. Luxury. Boys.

Akazawa Natsu did not _want_ to know where he was, or how he got there.

But at the very least, he figured out where he was. Akazawa Natsu was a keen human being when it came to gathering and processing of information. A few seconds later he was more than sure – he was at the legendary Host Club that all the girls in his class just _couldn't stop talking about. _

Natsu sighed. So much for just trying to get acquainted with the school. Without a word he reached for the then so heavenly-looking doorknob; but suddenly he paused.

Wait a minute. He seemed to have caught the glimpse of his main prey amidst that crowd.

"Eh? It's a guy?" The blonde in the center of the crowd blinked in surprise. "That's… rare. But it's a customer nonetheless! So, which one of these is your type?"

_Suoh Tamaki._ Natsu noted and decided to waste some time with these guys after all. He had nothing better to do. He turned around and scanned the boys with bored eyes, noting the presence of three of his classmates – the Hitachiin brothers and Fujioka Haruhi. "… I'm not interested in boys. Is that not obvious enough?"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Then why, may I propose, are you here, Akazawa Natsu-kun of class 1-A?"

Natsu sighed, "You must excuse a guy who just transferred here to walk into the wrong room. I was just trying to find a quiet place to study." Half of that was a lie. He was trying to find a quiet place to process information he had gathered so far about Ouran, not to study.

A loli shota on the side blinked, "I have this sense of déjà vu." He stared quizzically into Haruhi's eyes, "Don't you, Haru-chan?"

_Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Morinozuka Takashi._ Natsu noted yet again as he set eyes on the said human beings.

Haruhi did not have the foggiest idea what Hunny meant. Nor did Natsu.

"Face it, Tamaki, I think he's just lost." With a sigh, the megane behind Tamaki opened his mouth. "He certainly does not look a bit interested in you or your charms."

_And finally, Ootori Kyouya._ Natsu's mind smirked while he retained the same expression with a nod. So this was what his prey has grown to become.

_I have found you._

"Now, now," Kyouya turned to Natsu with another sigh, "If you are not a homosexual being that Takamki mistook you for, would you kindly leave? We have real customers to serve."

No way he was leaving right after he has found his prey. Natsu closed the barely open door, a smirk climbing up his face. "I will not leave, because I think the movement of this club is something rather… extraordinary, let's say. I may not be homosexual, but I am extremely curious."

"Yayyy! Curiosity is good!" Hunny bounced towards this newcomer with a massive grin on the face, "Soooo, the first thing you need to know about us is – Bun-bun!"

Natsu grinned and played along. He started by playfully pulling on Bun-Bun's ears. Haninozuka Mitsukuni was known for his attachment to this pink rabbit called Bun-Bun. "It's very cute, Hunny-senpai! I like it a lot."

"Yay!" Hunny jumped happily, "Na-chan likes my Bun-Bun!"

"Hey, hey," The Hitachiin twins chimed in unison, "How did you know Hunny-senpai's nickname when you didn't even know that this is the Host Club's meeting room?"

Natsu shrugged, "Knowing names isn't something hard to accomplish. Let's see. Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun, I know you already. Haruhi-kun, I know you already. That self-proclaimed king is Suoh Tamaki-senpai."

"Self-proclaimed?" Tamaki fumed, the twins laughed, but all were ignored by Natsu as he went on, "There's Mori-senpai, and then there's Ootori Kyouya-senpai. I've always been… resourceful, and seriously, those girls won't stop babbling about you all."

Haruhi couldn't help but nod at the last point.

"Won't you allow me to stay and watch these… interesting scenes and set eyes upon the prowess of this dear Host Club?" Natsu ended his comment with a plain plead, and let's not forget a rather… dangerous smirk on the face.

"Ah, so you are awed by the Host Club's prowess!" Tamaki suddenly jumped from the corner in which he was sulking, proceeding to grab Natsu's hand with teary eyes, greatly startling the poor newcomer. "No, it is no fun to just watch – Would you like to be my apprentice and try hosting? Your looks are… tolerable." He scanned over Natsu's messy black curls and his disinterested eyes. "Actually, with a little polish you should be fine. Start by calling me king."

"No thanks, _sire_. Watching will do." Natsu slammed, "And by the way, I have zero talent – not at this, anyhow."

Tamaki flicked his hair, putting his hand to his chest for a pose, "No, you are talented. You need to discover that. So, you will host for the day and we shall see how you proceed!"

Before poor Natsu could react, the Hitachiin twins tossed a somewhat Indian costume onto his head, "Now go get changed, Akazawa," they chimed in unison.

"Wait, what - " Natsu stammered as the twins pushed him along. He barely had the time to react before he was literally _thrown_ behind the curtains of the change room.

But Natsu had the gut to walk back out with a grin.

"Get back in there!" Hikaru protested, but Natsu's coyly words, along with that ever so dangerous grin, rooted him – and all others – to the ground.

"Hey… did anyone happen to realize that Fujioka Haruhi is actually a girl?"

* * *

Let's see… another word for the acumulation of Tamaki's tears at the moment would be "river".

"You stupid twins!" the Lord sobbed at a corner, accusing the twins with his ever-so-pointy fingers, "How could you let an outsider notice Haruhi's true gender? As her most beloved father, I simply cannot tolerate my daughter being sexually harassed by some stranger - "

"Isn't that overdoing it?" Natsu, freshly changed, cut in, "It's not as if I stayed in there for long."

Kyouya cleared his throat on the side and pushed his glasses up his nose, "Either way, it doesn't matter. Akazawa, you will _have_ to stay in the Host Club and keep the secret now."

Natsu scowled. "I deny."

"I am sure you have heard of the Ootori family and just how… resourceful we can be." The Shadow King remarked with a smirk and a mock bow. "And I have not heard of such a family with the name 'Akazawa' that has more of an influence than the Ootori family."

Natsu opened his mouth to protest, but paused. A glint danced briefly in his eyes. Kyouya raised an eyebrow.

"I can stay," The newcomer remarked with a grin, "And I will keep the secret – you can bet on it. But I can't host, and I won't."

"Come on," Kaoru gave him a smack on the back as Hikaru took over, "If someone like _Haruhi_ can be so good with girls, you'll be fine."

Natsu scowled dubiously and looked toward Haruhi's direction. She seemed uneasy after receiving his glance, but went on with her ever so "natural" and "refreshing" smile.

"I suppose I could try," Natsu shrugged, "But I don't have the foggiest idea how to host."

Tamaki chuckled. Then, flashily, he waved the edge of his cape (yes, there is a cape) and walked towards one of the ladies, "That, my friend, is easy. Observe!" He then turned to the lovestruck girl, coaxing in a soft and chilling voice, "My, my, you are so perfect. Everything about you is a legend! Your long, silky hair, your smooth, soft skin, your beautiful watery eyes, and your exquisitely tempting lips – Ohime-sama, these are the signs of perfection, the signs of a goddess – you!"

"Oh, Tamaki-kun…" The girl literally melted, and her face looked as if it was about to drip blood.

"Oi, oi…" Natsu turned his head to a different angle, sighing hopelessly on the way, "… _this_ is what girls are supposed to fall for?"

"Or you can have an attempt brotherly love, of which the Hitachiin brothers are masters." Kyouya pointed out, and Natsu turned only to find Kaoru, apparently cut his fingers.

"Oh Kaoru, I would never allow you to be hurt!" That was Hikaru.

"Hikaru…" That was Kaoru.

"EEEEEE!" That was the fangirls.

Natsu was beginning to regret ever stepping into this place, despite his thirst for his prey, apparently standing right beside him.

Speak of the devil. Just then Kyouya smiled in a… creepy manner, "You should go try."

Hearing that, the Hitachiin brothers jumped over and dragged the poor Natsu to a seat, surrounded by ladies. "Ladies, this guy is new. Please allow yourselves to be acquainted."

For the first time in his life, Natsu considered suicide as all these girls started bombarding him with questions, "You're the new transfer student, right?" "What is your family background?" "Do you have a particular hobby?" "What type of girls do you like?"

"Um…" Taken aback by all the attention, Natsu searched for things to say. He stayed silent. The girls watched with anticipation. Finally, Natsu seemed to have found something to say. But the words he uttered were barely… refreshing. In fact, these words did not answer any questions, nor did they have the desired effect.

"Umm," Natsu stuttered, an eyebrow raised, "You all… make my insides jump around like crazed fishes?"

At the remark, everyone froze.

Following that was a stampede of girls running out of the room yelling "Wahhh, he's mocking us".

When the Third Music Room was completely void of guests, Tamaki shot Natsu a death look. The latter merely shrugged, "What did I tell ya…"

"He won't host." The Hitachiin brothers shook their heads in unison. "But we do have to keep him here somehow."

"Ah," Kyouya cut in, "Akazawa, you mentioned that you are a resourceful person?"

"Yes?" Natsu sighed, taking off the ridiculous cosplay hat.

Kyouya rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm… I could use some help here. None of these guys would bother managing the club."

"Managing affairs?" The newcomer blinked, before another dangerous grin broke out, "My forte."

"All right. Deal?"

"Deal."

The Host Club members watched as Kyouya and Natsu exchanged a handshake. Somehow, they got lots of creeps with and an eerie hunch that these two were utterly similar in nature.

* * *

Kyouya sighed.

It was hard pretending to not notice when objects started disappearing from the Host Club. They were only small things at first, but when a complete vase vanished into thin air, he knew he had to do _something_.

He waited. He waited for Natsu to stop. He thought Natsu would be intelligent enough to avoid toying with the Host Club. Being a resourceful person Natsu said he was, he should most definitely know the prominent family backgrounds of the club members (Haruhi excepted). And working with him, Kyouya was very much acquainted with Natsu's intelligence.

And so Kyouya was troubled. Why would a smart human being trifle with whatever that he knows would bring only problems?

All this stealing was getting on his nerves. Did Natsu take them all to be simpletons who wouldn't even notice their own stuff missing, or was Natsu just an idiot in an apparent intelligent disguise?

Either way, Kyouya decided it was time to do some research.

* * *

Natsu leaned on the wall in fatigue. The Host Club members actually bought his excuse to "stay and clean". He didn't want to think about anything just then. He didn't want to do anything either. He was beginning to question why he was doing it.

Clearly, a large portion of the club was consisted of idiots. He knew that. But he didn't expect his stealing to continue for this long. He expected them to find out.

And frankly, that was what he wanted them to do. He wanted them – especially Ootori Kyouya – to find out, because it was all a part of his experiment.

But it seemed as if they were going along with his act. They were either completely unaware or just buying themselves time to research. Natsu thought the latter was probably the case.

He sighed again as he reached for an envelope in his pocket. If this folly was not finished by today, he would finish it. After all, he didn't really want or like the idea of stealing, even though it was for his experiment.

He walked towards Kyouya's laptop. What idiot leaves a laptop with a thief? Massaging his head, he laid the envelope on the laptop, and then decided to test out something – maybe the Club was watching. If they were watching and he pretended to steal something, they'll for sure find out.

So a sudden limelight cast upon him while he picked up another vase was really no surprise to him, except that perhaps the excessive brightness of the light was hurting his eyes.

_Now we're talking_. Getting over the initial shock of the extremely bright light, an inner Natsu smirked.

It was Hunny who entered first, with Mori closely following. He certainly didn't look very happy. In fact, Natsu was surprised to see such a Dark Hunny. His voice sounded different too – not by much, but definitely creepier. "It's baaaad to steal, Na-chan."

And then there were the Hitachiin brothers, who stuck out their tongues in unison. Tamaki entered next, who surprisingly did not have the look of complete idiocy on his face. Haruhi looked a little confused. And at last, a smirking Kyouya emerged, his eyes glinting of a slightly disturbing look that seemed to see through everything.

Natsu heaved a relieved sigh, "Finally! I was beginning to think you'd never find out."

Tamaki flamboyantly pointed an accusing finger at Natsu's nose, "How _dare_ you? Pretending to align with the Host Club while stealing behind the scenes? Do you take us all as idiots?"

Natsu mumbled, "Well you personally _are_ an idiot…"

"WHAT?" That was Tamaki.

"BWAHAHAHAHA…" That was the twins.

"I don't think stealing is Akazawa-kun's true intentions." That was Haruhi, raising her eyebrows, "If it is, he wouldn't have done it in such obvious manner."

"So, may I propose," Natsu shrugged nonchalantly, "What have you found out about me?"

"Perfect question," Kyouya answered, an extremely interested expression on the face. "You say you are Akazawa Natsu and that you are a boy of mediocre lineage. There are in fact three things wrong with that statement."

"Three?" Tamaki blinked dubiously, "It actually sounds all right to me. He certainly doesn't look like he's of some grand background."

Natsu shrugged again, "That may be because, Suoh-senpai, that I have lived a life that you all call a 'commoner's' life for a while now. So Ootori-senpai, what are the three things wrong with my own statement?"

Hikaru mumbled, "Well, your name is probably fake."

Kaoru continued, "And your lineage is probably wrong."

"What's the third thing?" Tamaki blinked, still not getting it.

The twins chimed in unison, "You're really an idiot, milord. Akazawa Natsu, you're probably not a boy, are you?"

"Bingo!" Natsu grinned cheerfully, "I certainly did a good job hiding it. It's been a week!"

"WHAAAAT?" Tamaki roared while Haruhi's jaw dropped. "Oi… seems as if I'm not the only one hiding this twisted true gender around here…"

"So, let's change your statement a bit," Kyouya raised a hand and put a stop to the commotion. He looked towards Natsu, glasses reflecting an eerie light.

"Your name is in fact Tooyama Natsuki, the eldest daughter of the Tooyama medicine trade firm."

* * *

**Yue: **All right! A start of another eternal hole! Hooray! It's another one of those OC fics... OC fics are kind of fun to write :D.  
Anyhow, it was a little rushed, but I think it turned out all right. If you want to see a continuation, for sure - leave me a review. I thank thee for thy awesomeness.


	2. Tooyama Natsuki

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran. But no. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **If you look at the summary again, you'll realize that the **pairing** has been **tweaked** a little. The original KyouyaxOC had been changed into KyouyaxOCxHunny. I've in fact planned this ages ago (well, it should be fun to write due to their _completely _different personalities :D!), but I was wavering because I was afraid I won't be able to… clean it up nicely. But now I know I can! I'll just… go with the flow. It'll still be majorly KyouyaxOC.  
Anyway, this chapter is ridiculously long, so I won't talk more. Enjoy, and please leave a review.

* * *

Luxury 2 – Tooyama Natsuki

"Your name is in fact Tooyama Natsuki, the eldest daughter of the Tooyama medicine trade firm," Kyouya recited calmly as he continued regarding Natsu in the eye, "And I believe we know each other."

"Oh, ah, really?" Tamaki blinked on the side, "You didn't tell me, Mom?"

Natsu sighed as _she_ ignored a sulking Tamaki in the corner, "We do indeed. We should know each other well – not by face, but by name. In fact, your name – the Ootori family – " Her eyes suddenly emitted a ray of savagery hatred, greatly startling everyone except for Kyouya, " – was the indirect cause of my mother's death."

"What?" The entire party screamed. Kyouya, however, seemed unmoved. "Mrs. Tooyama is alive and well. I do not understand what you are trying to say."

"Don't play mind games with me, Ootori Kyouya; you know what I'm talking about." Natsu snapped irritably, "It's not _that_ Mrs. Tooyama I'm talking about. I couldn't care less about _that_ Mrs. Tooyama."

"In other words, you do not care a thing about your own mother - "

"_Step_mother." Natsu corrected. She had an urge to punch him in the face. There was _no_ way he didn't know! "It's not that I don't care about her. That _step_mother of mine couldn't care less about me. My real mother, Akazawa Shuuko, passed away last year. She was the head of the Tooyama firm's shipping department."

"Of course." Kyouya answered that with a smirk, "She was the woman with whom Mr. Tooyama fell in love while inspecting the company."

Natsu snorted and spat through her teeth, "I loved my mother dearly. She was an intelligent woman. But the one mistake she made was to believe in such folly as 'love at first sight'."

Tamaki blinked dubiously, "Why, I think love at first sight is a wonderful thing - "

"Unless you have experienced a successful love at first sight relationship, you are in no place to say that." Natsu cut him off impatiently, looking as if she was about to spit nails, "My mother clearly thought it was a wonderful thing. She literally enslaved herself to her work for that father of mine, who went to marry someone else three days after her funeral!"

"Natsu-kun…" Haruhi began, but Natsu gave her no chance to continue, "Please don't pity me, Haruhi-chan. It's the last thing I need."

"Either way," Kyouya muttered, wearing a same smile on the face as if breezing through someone else's demise was completely normal, "Former Mrs. Tooyama passed away due to ill health. The Ootori family did not in any way contribute to the passing of former Mrs. Tooyama."

Natsu had no choice but to return a smile, "Ah, is that so? A month prior to my mother's demise, her department was cut off from any access to the Ootori family resources. The day before the loss of access, incidentally, the current Mrs. Tooyama has met with the head of the Ootori firm, your father, Ootori Yoshio-sama."

The twins jumped in surprise, pointing with open mouths at Kyouya in horror. Hunny blinked his watery eyes and inquired, "Is that true, Kyo-chan?"

The way Kyouya and Natsu smiled at each other reminded the other members of coyotes, observing just how satisfying their prey can appear before tearing it into countless pieces. Kyouya defended calmly, "That was a coincidence."

"Indeed?" Natsu's smile widened. A throbbing vein began making itself visible on her forehead. "Then why, may I ask, was the Ootori family sources accessible again almost immediately after my mother's funeral – which, surprisingly, all of the Ootori family attended _except_ for a certain Ootori Kyouya?"

"The Ootori firm temporarily cut off the resources to the Tooyama firm due to the latter's refusal in signing the contract prior to the cutoff," Kyouya dictated dryly, "No personal affair interfered."

Natsu snorted, "That is strange. I accessed the records last month. My mother's signature seemed to be printed neatly on that very contract, dated well before the date of the cutoff. A contract regarding the release of a new product in the Ootori firm, I believe?"

"Yes," Kyouya affirmed, "I do not know the source of your records, therefore I remain with my earlier argument – the Ootori firm cut off the resources due to some problems with that contract."

"Let's not play any more word games, Ootori Kyouya. No," Natsu deadpanned, her voice cold as ice, "The Ootori family cut off the resources to force my mother to resign. This ordeal was carried out by _you_, Ootori Kyouya – and because of that I despise you to every nerve."

If you looked at the other Host Club members right now, you'd laugh. They looked like they just swallowed three tonnes of raw fish. Tamaki defended on the side, "Kyouya won't do that! Plus, how does cutting off resources to your company have anything to do with - " he stopped abruptly.

"If you're talking about the death of my mother,"' Natsu shot him a cold glance, cold enough to make him shiver and proceed towards a corner, "I'll be plain. My mother degraded. She used to be a brilliant, intelligent woman. She became a slave. She became dependent on my father. She did not want to resign. She even went to the Ootori firm and _begged_ to be spared."

Kyouya's expressions were unreadable, neither were Natsu's.

"My mother lost her confidence, pride and goal, all for some stupid love at first sight," Natsu's voice could freeze a pond, "Her health fell drastically. I was in France on an exchange." She left it at that. She didn't know what else to say, and she didn't want to say more.

Kyouya pushed his glasses, unmoved, "I am deeply sorry about former Mrs. Tooyama's passing. However, I deny being involved in such 'forcing to resign' scheme, for I see no benefit to such act."

"I don't know what the present Mrs. Tooyama offered you, nor do I care," Natsu dictated flatly, "The point is – the resource cutoff contributed to my mother's demise."

Kyouya's smirk widened as he continued, "But Tooyama Natsuki, have you not already revenged?"

Natsu froze.

"Somehow you gained temporary superior access to Tooyama firm's affairs, and you, in return, cut off _all_ the medical resources to the Ootori firm, nearly paralyzing the entire firm – am I not right?" Kyouya stated behind his shining glasses while Hunny and the twins jumped in shock, "Whoa, that's true too?"

A hint of vexation flashed on Natsu's face. But that was short-lived as the girl merely shrugged nonchalantly, "Ah yes, that. It was fun."

"Fun? FUN?" Tamaki suddenly burst. He sounded so serious that he gained complete attention – and of course, as we all know, that doesn't happen often. "You almost paralyzed an entire company because of a personal grudge! Consider all the employees and families _you_ were going to destroy!"

He paused to wait for Natsu's retort, but surprisingly the latter stayed silent.

"Plus, how would stealing from the Host Club help you revenge on Kyouya? Besides, you don't understand Kyouya at all. Even if what you said was true, I'm completely certain that Kyouya would _never_ willfully do something like that. He was probably just following orders."

"Tamaki-senpai, I don't think - " Haruhi interrupted, but Tamaki gave her no chance to finish, "No, Haruhi, we are a family. Otou-san will not allow Okaa-san be humiliated by a stranger that came from nowhere! So, you, Tooyama or whatever, we can keep your secret on the agreement that you keep Haruhi's, so give back whatever you stole and get out of here forever!"

"Yeah, seriously," The twins grinned darkly. Mori cracked his knuckles.

"Heh…"

Tamaki blinked. Was Natsu laughing?

"Heh… hehe… family, eh?" When Natsu lifted her head, her face was covered by a smile, albeit a bitter one. She waved her hand as she walked towards the door. "I see. I'm sorry for playing this cruel joke on you. It was none other than an… experiment, let's say."

"What?" Tamaki was confused. Very confused. "But – hey!"

"What about the things you stole?" The twins protested in unison.

"Oh," Natsu paused in mid-stride, turned and pointed at Kyouya's laptop, "See that white envelope over there? It contains an amount worth everything I… borrowed."

Kaoru snorted, "We want the actual _items_."

"You can buy them." Natsu made a face, "Unless the Host Club is in a deficit of funding…? Hmm…"

Hikaru inquired, "Where are the items?"

A smirk climbed slowly onto Natsu's sly face. "I… sold them? It won't hurt telling you – but I actually made triple the amount that is in that envelope. It could sustain my current standard of living for months! Thank you all!"

With that she winked one last time and walked away from the Host Club alone. The rest were left dumbfounded as they watched Natsu stride further and further. At last, her back disappeared in the hallway, leaving the club staring at an empty space, jaws practically on the floor (except for Kyouya, of course; he has too elegant an image).

"A clone of Kyouya-senpai…" Hikaru mumbled.

"Not exactly…" Haruhi pointed out, "She looks nothing like Kyouya-senpai."

"Hikaru probably meant the brain part," Kaoru sighed, "We should use the money to buy some new cosplay outfits. On this evil girl's part… good riddance."

"I don't think so…"

"What do you mean, Hunny-senpai?"

Hunny blinked continuously at the empty hall, with one finger twiddling with his lower lip.

"Ne, Takashi… I don't think antagonizing Kyo-chan is Na-chan's true intention… do you?"

* * *

She lost.

Indeed she lost. Natsu sighed as she walked along a shaded path, desiring some quiet space. All the halls of the buildings seemed too crowded; she had to seek solitude outside.

The term "lost" did not refer to Natsu's loss of a comeback when Tamaki was defending Kyouya's so-called integrity. That was deliberate on Natsu's part, not to mention that Tamaki's argument was full of holes. Neither did the term refer to any loss of money or pride, because she did not lose any.

But this loss had got to be the worst loss she's ever experienced.

"Natsu-kun!"

Huh? Natsu scowled and turned around. Why would Fujioka Haruhi want to talk to her at a time like this? She sighed. "Haruhi-chan… thank you for taking the time to talk to a thief."

"No, it's not that…" Haruhi ran towards her, the massive eyes full of question, "You didn't come to Host Club to steal or to let loose of Kyouya-senpai's personal secrets, did you?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow, "I didn't? It certainly looked like that to _me_. And seeing as I am the one that conducted all these acts - "

"I tried telling Tamaki-senpai, but he wouldn't let me finish." Haruhi shook her head hopelessly, "You…"

Her large eyes stared quizzically into Natsu's own. Natsu shivered. She felt like she's been seen-through. She never liked that feeling.

"… You just wanted to know whether you're alone or not, right?"

Natsu froze.

"… Define."

Haruhi turned her head, and then smiled.

"I don't know what it is exactly, and I don't know how to describe it, but… well, you still hate Kyouya-senpai, but you didn't come to revenge or anything. You just… you just… wanted to see whether Kyouya-senpai was better off than you are, right?"

The silence seemed like it was going to go on forever. When Natsu finally found her voice, all she could manage was a pathetic "Umm".

"I'm not sure, really," Haruhi chuckled apologetically, "But I think you should come back to the Host Club! These guys may look like idiots, but sometimes we actually have fun. Oh, and I think you should also give Kyouya-senpai a chance. Once you get to know him, he's not actually a bad guy."

Natsu snorted and made no response.

"You probably won't want to tell me any more," Haruhi shrugged, "But I'll be here for you if you want someone to open up to. Meanwhile, let's talk of more cheerful subjects - "

"Haruhi-chan." Natsu cut her off. Her eyes were hidden in her messy bangs.

"Yes?"

"I… hope you won't think that I'm trying to corrupt you," the girl sighed as she cast a sad eye towards the sky.

"… At times when morals and profit are put on the same balance – morals is usually the one that goes out the window."

Haruhi paused her actions and blinked. Was that a Natsu on the brink of tears?

"Just thought you ought to know." The near-crying girl was almost immediately gone as it was replaced by a big, cheerful grin. Haruhi sighed. She was simply unreadable.

"Oh, by the way, Natsu-kun - "

"Natsu-_chan_. I have a fetish for cute suffixes."

"… Um, okay. Natsu-chan, why did you disguise yourself as a guy?"

"PFFT…" The poor Natsu clasped her hands to her mouth. No, no, not now! She didn't want to laugh like an idiot and lose her dignity! However, it was futile. It burst, at last – the never-ending flood of laughter. "HAHHAA…" After eternities, she finally wiped her teary eye and comforted her hurting stomach, "I never intended to disguise myself or anything! It's just that the boys' uniform was way cheaper and more comfortable than the girls'. Didya see that _dress_? Who knew that a uniform would be so much like a _dress_? And it looks like they pried it off of some kind of Barbie doll! I'm sorry, but I decline to wear anything like that."

Haruhi's face twitched and did not object – because heck, she agreed.

Natsu chuckled amusedly, "But when I walked in, everyone – even the teacher – mistook me for a boy, so I thought 'this is interesting' and just went along."

_She is _so_ like Kyouya-senpai…_ Haruhi did _not _know what to say; instead, she laughed. It was soothing talking to someone in a somewhat similar boat as she was.

* * *

"You're saying I wronged Akazawa, or Tooyama or whatever her name is?" At the moment, Tamaki's face resembled exactly like Edvard Munch's painting "Scream", because frankly Tamaki was too… ahem, "nice" (cue idiotic). He did not like the idea of wronging anyone.

Haruhi, meanwhile, ignored the crying Tono and nodded. "Natsu-chan is in fact a very friendly girl."

"Pfft," Hikaru snorted, "How can you call a girl friendly after she stole our things and sold them?"

"She gave back the money!" Haruhi defended, "Plus, she didn't come here to steal at all!"

"Sure… the stuff just disappeared into thin air," Kaoru retorted, "She admitted! C'mon, Haruhi!"

Hunny suddenly spoke on the side after a big bite on his favourite cherry cake, sounding as cheery as ever, "I talked to Na-chan too. She didn't tell me much, but it's obvious that she didn't come here to steal. Na-chan is a really good girl, ne, Takashi?"

"Yeah," Mori echoed. Kyouya rolled his eyes on the side. It was a shame; nobody saw that.

Tamaki sniffed and dragged himself out of the corner, suddenly all pumped up, "If my dear daughter Haruhi thinks Akazawa has been wronged, then she has been wronged! (Hunny waved on the side, 'What about me?') We must start a new mission to investigate this. Kyouya - "

"I deny," Kyouya deadpanned, "I know all about Tooyama Natsuki. There is nothing to her but a vengeful, hateful heart – nothing more than a bad seed in the Tooyama family. She's not at all worth investigating."

"How can you say that, Kyouya-senpai? Natsu-chan is very nice," Haruhi stated, "At the very least, you should give her a – BEEEEP…"

"Beeeep?" The club members looked from one to another and blinked in question.

"That wasn't me," Haruhi sighed. "It was an awfully _bad_ cellphone ringtone."

"It came from outside the window," The scarcely speaking Mori spoke, pointing at the open window, "Tooyama Natsuki's cellphone, I think."

At the mention of Natsu's name, without further ado the club members rushed towards the window in unison. They had the clearest view of Natsu, but Natsu couldn't see them. They heard a sigh and saw her stick out her tongue in dislike. Then she squeezed out a big, unnatural, obviously fake grin as she pressed the talk button on the utterly plain cellphone.

"Hello, father!"

"IT'S OUTRAGEOUS ENOUGH THAT YOU HAD THE GUT TO MOVE OUT OF THE FAMILY, BUT TO HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ENLIST IN OURAN!"

Natsu rolled her eyes and held the receiver away from her poor ear, waiting for this bloop of loudness to subside. When it did, she answered in a greatly contrasting bored voice, "I'm _so_ sorry if I irked your eldest son by attending a better school than he does."

"What?" Tamaki whispered, "That's no way to talk to a father! And to badmouth a brother! She is a very, very, bad, girl!"

"She moved out of her family?" Hunny blinked in question. Kyouya nodded, "Last year, after her mother's funeral."

"… How do you know all this stuff?"

"I have my sources."

"…"

This was interrupted by Natsu's snort, "Wait. _You_ want _me_ to _come back_ to live in the Tooyama mansion. What has the world come to? Let me guess – is your eldest son not doing a very good job managing the financial aspects, by any chance? Oh, and by the way, that used to be _my_ job?"

The club could not make out what the other end was saying.

"I'm not coming back," Natsu denied flatly, "And I'm _never_ apologizing to the Ootori family."

The club members sheepishly cast their eyes at Kyouya. At the latter's _glaaaaare_, they quickly turned their heads back to Natsu. The other end was yelling again, making the words "ruin their company" audible.

"Oh, Otou-san, please don't be ridiculous." Natsu chuckled lightly, "Almost ruin their company? You flatter me. I'm sorry for temporarily stealing your authority, if that's what you're mad about. I knew from the beginning that my scheme would never succeed. I never had the expectation nor _intention_ to ruin the Ootori firm, because I was smart enough to realize that it is extremely difficult to accomplish even with multiple company collaborations, let alone a fifteen-year-old girl."

"'Never had the intention'?" Kyouya scowled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it was a stupid move on my part, it'll scar the relationship between the Tooyama and Ootori firms…" Natsu yawned and shrugged nonchalantly, "But _I'm_ not the one cleaning it up. Cleaning up is the part that matters – and, frankly, seeing as you have no intention of leaving even the tiniest portion of the company to me, I see no benefit in helping you clean up."

The club members who did not take the shape of Ootori Kyouya shivered. This girl really did resemble the said human being. Nonetheless, the twins caught the point, "What? She's not getting any of the Tooyama properties?"

Kyouya shrugged, "Tooyama Natsuki gained a stepbrother and a stepsister after the remarriage of her father. Her father clearly favours the stepbrother and the stepsister."

Natsu interrupted Kyouya's explanation, again with a snort, "Why did I do it? Simple. Thirty percent of it was revenge on what they did to my mother. Ten percent of it was personal amusement. The rest sixty percent would be for the benefit of myself – to find an excuse to get out of my duties and move out of your mansion." The girl answered honestly, with an oily grin on the face.

"See, Kyo-chan? Only thirty percent of it was revenge." Hunny said cheerfully. Haruhi did not know what to say. "_Only_ thirty percent? Hunny-senpai…"

"Shh, she's getting angry." Kaoru grinned mischievously as he pointed at Natsu's suddenly tensing face. They still could not hear what the other end is saying, but this time it was Natsu who was yelling.

"No sense of family? _I _have no sense of family? That's your reason? I could not inherit any of the Tooyama properties because _I _have no sense of _family_?" The girl shouted into the phone, looking like she was about to spit daggers, "You say that. You have _never_ taken my mother out on a vacation. All you have ever said to me was 'work your head off'. You didn't strip me of my heir status because _I _had no sense of family – you hated me from the very start! You didn't want my mother, nor did you want me – you only wanted that… that _woman_ who married you for your money. Can't you see it? Don't try to make up excuses – the sector that my mother worked so hard to manage, the sector that you were originally planning to let me have – to suck up to the Ootori firm, you just decided to _offer_ it to the third son of the Ootori firm, that cursed Ootori Kyouya!"

"…" The club members' jaws dropped in unison.

"No wonder Natsu-chan hates Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi reasoned, "Given that something of great importance left by her beloved mother is going to be offered to another so worthlessly, she would definitely be angry – both at the offering human being and the accepting human being."

Tamaki waved his arms hysterically and whispered harshly at Kyouya, "Okaa-san, Okaa-san, how can you be keeping such a secret from us?"

"Now that's actually something I'm _not_ aware of." Kyouya pushed his glasses and mumbled dubiously, "And given that I'm supposed to have a big part in it, it's strange that I am not aware."

"Don't give me that 'I was just planning it and have not presented the offer' speech!" Natsu snapped at the cellphone, outraged.

Kyouya shrugged, "That explains it."

"This speech is a hoax. You want me back there to 'work my head off' because your stepson is so bad at it, and you won't dare to discipline him because you're afraid of that _woman_!" Natsu raised her right arm to her face, wiping off something that was probably tears. The sad sight was soon gone as it was replaced by a dangerous grin. "You want me to be frank? I still have cards up my sleeve, and I couldn't care less right now about your company. And you know what else? Ootori Kyouya is not so simple. He might be the third son, but his… almost intimidating intelligence could very well earn him the spot of the heir. And when that day comes – your originally nice intention could very easily be viewed as an… underestimation."

Tamaki shot Kyouya a meaningful look. The latter did no more than scribbling crazily into a notebook. Hunny bounced, "See? Na-chan is a smart and nice girl! She even complimented Kyo-chan!"

"Um, Hunny-senpai, I'm not sure if that was meant as a compliment…"

The other end was shouting yet again, though the voice was rather blur. It sounded very threatening, but Natsu did not care a single bit.

"It's final. I'm not coming back. I'm _never_ apologizing to the Ootori firm. You sort out your own company affairs. I'm on my own, meaning that you're on your own too, _Otou-san_."

With that she clasped her cellphone shut, and let a tired sigh escape her mouth as she leaned limply against the closest wall she could find. The Host Club could not see her face, but the atmosphere surrounding her was so solemn that it affected them too.

Her screechy "BEEEEP" ringtone sounded again, and she twitched and stared at the phone in disdain. The noise would not stop. It drove Natsu nuts. "AAAAAARRRGH!" She grunted and swung her arm, tossing the cellphone as far as she could. It was intercepted by a nearby tree, smashed into pieces, and fell to the ground. A weak buzz came from it, and then there were none.

The club heard Natsu sigh and chuckle to herself, albeit completely worn out, "Darn it. Another cellphone ruined. Better learn to control myself."

The club watched Natsu sit herself down. For minutes she did not move, and neither did they. The way Natsu hung her head, unconfident and tired, drew some serious concerns. For a while they wondered if she was alive, but when she twitched they knew she was. They just stared. Finally, Tamaki broke the solemn silence with a declaration.

"Haruhi is right. This girl is not the bad thief we imagined. Her family is the bad one here! She is just a lonely and betrayed soul in need of rescue!"

"Um, um, a lonely soul?" Haruhi pointed out, brutally honest, "Isn't that overdoing it? Natsu-chan has lots of friends."

"But Haru-chan, Na-chan is obviously sad!" Hunny pouted and pointed one of Bun-Bun's ears at Natsu's dejected head, "I think we should all welcome Na-chan into the Host Club to warm up her lonely and cold soul!"

Tamaki nodded repeatedly with a grin, "Indeed – and this father, with his heart-warming treatment of his daughter - " He dictated narcissistically, reaching a free hand towards Haruhi's poor head, " – Shall teach the degrading thief the true meaning of 'family'! What do you say, all?"

When he realized that nobody was listening, he proceeded to go sulk at a corner. The twins ignored the sulking lord and scratched their heads in unison, "Well we _may_ have misjudged her _a little_, so we can give her _a bit_ of a chance, we _guess_."

"Kyouya (senpai)?"

Feeling all the eyes upon him, Kyouya sighed. He considered the options. He could accept – which he definitely did not want to do – or he could refuse, in which he would only cause Tamaki to stare at him with puppy eyes. It'd be more difficult to get through this time too, seeing as Haruhi and Hunny were apparently firmly on Natsu's side. Kyouya really wasn't in the _place_ to refuse. Besides, he really _could_ use an extra hand. All his work had been rather stressful. He sighed again and opened his mouth – only to be interrupted by a bored voice outside the window,

"Just so you know, I'm not a lonely soul in need of salvation," Natsu's voice sounded amused, before apparently realizing something and tensing considerably, "And how long have you been loitering near that window?"

"Long enough," Hikaru shrugged and made a clever response, "So seeing as you have heard Tono's request, what do you think about joining Host Club?"

Natsu frowned, "Why in the right mind would I do that?"

"I don't know," Hunny bounced cheerfully, "You can eat cakes with me! Lots and lots and _lots_ of cakes!"

"You can rant to me," Haruhi suggested, "And I can rant to you! I think we'll need that. Sharing the insanity is definitely necessary around here…"

"And you'll have a nice Otou-san!" Tamaki bounced from the corner and waved hyperactively, only to be sent back to where he was by Natsu's cold remark, "I would be ashamed if my Otou-san was such idiot."

"Anyway," The girl sighed, "I don't need to be pitied by you. I don't know how much you've heard, and I can't care less. I'm not part of the Tooyama firm anymore, and I do not intend to counter any gossips. Moreover, I see no benefit in joining the Host Club. I am in fact surprised that you asked, seeing as I stole many of your objects, and I must question your true intentions."

"But Na-chan, we have good intentions. You can learn to host!" Hunny pouted, at the same time looking towards Kyouya for help.

"I'll scare the customers," Natsu pointed out, "Remember the other day? Hosting is just _one_ of the many things I can't do."

Haruhi considered the matter carefully, "If not, you can help Kyouya-senpai manage. I think Kyouya-senpai needs a hand."

Natsu snorted loudly, "So how much _have_ you heard of that cursed phone call of mine? Shouldn't you at least _know_ how much I dislike that human being?"

"We can tutor you," Kaoru volunteered, "As said, with a little polish you should look fine. Then we'll teach you all about hosting - "

"Is this how you talk to someone you are trying to invite?" Natsu smirked dangerously, "To tell her that her looks are in fact flawed and inadequate? Sorry, not convincing."

Tamaki's limp hand waved weakly at the window, "Fa… mi… ly…"

"Forget it," Natsu deadpanned, "Playing dead doesn't work on me."

When it was Mori's turn, the said person uttered a single word, as earnestly as humanly possible, "Please."

Natsu refused that with a bow as polite as humanly possible, "Sorry. No."

Pretty soon the entire club was expecting Kyouya's help. The latter sighed, "You guys are nothing without me."

He pushed his glasses and flipped open his notebook, and moved swiftly towards the window. "Tooyama Natsuki – you seem to have sold our belongings on a commoners' auction website using the fake identity 'MagicHand358'. This account is known for its apparently legal sales of luxurious products, and is a major source of your current income."

_Now how in God's name did he know that? _An inner Natsu grunted loudly.

"And, strangely, 'MagicHand358' is among the most popular sellers on that site – and almost on the entire commoners' web ring, for that matter." Kyouya's shining glasses only made him look spookier than ever, "Now, with regards to the Host Club matter – you can decline to join, but then I'll have to do… a little further investigation with regards to just _how_ you acquire all your objects to sell, and maybe involve my guards a little to… veto the account." He stated blankly, sending a chill down Natsu's spine. Even the club members backed off, thinking that this just _may_ be a bit too much.

It was perhaps the first time Natsu looked at a person and had an actual, serious headache.

Kyouya paused for a while, and then continued with the same, seemingly harmless smile, "Or you can choose to obey my friends and join, in which I will then let your auction account be and keep others from knowing its owner – on the condition that you must be helping me – in other words, entirely my _slave_ for… an indefinite period of time."

Tooyama Natsuki used to think that she herself was evil.

That changed, the day she was doomed to become a worthless _slave_ to Ootori Kyouya.

With a gulp, Haruhi carefully smiled at Natsu and stammered, "Well… Natsu-chan, what do you think?"

The poor girl sank dejectedly onto the ground. "I don't have much of a _choice_ now, do I? If joining this Host Club can keep me living the way I am now, I think I should do it!"

_Wow, that auction account was that important to her?_ Haruhi noted to herself. _Kyouya-senpai caught her weak spot – he is scary._

The minute Natsu heard Hunny's triumphal cheer, Mori's chuckle and Tamaki's tearful exclamation, mixed with some grunting of the twins and a suspicious shine coming from a pair of glasses, she knew she was doomed.

That day, Tooyama Natsuki decided to write a will as soon as she got home.

* * *

**Yue: **This is ridiculously long, as I said. I'm sorry if Natsu seems a bit like a Sue. It's the second chapter; I'll fix it in the later chapters. Anyway, I hope you liked it. And please review!


	3. Of slave, visit, and sore butt

**Disclaimer: **I wish I own Ouran, because if so I'd be dead rich to have _created_ them all! But sadly, I don't. But dare not to steal Natsu. She is mine.

**Yue: **You realize I changed the title and the summary, because I was convinced the that old ones sucked. But no worries, story stayed the same.  
Yay, chapter 3. Not much to say about it. Not the most interesting chapter. But the next one will be, and while I write that - do enjoy this one.  
AND **PLEASE REVIEW!** Reviews are an important part of my motivation XD.

* * *

Luxury 3 – Of slavedriver, visits, and sore butts

Every time Tooyama Natsuki, usually known as Akazawa Natsu, entered the Third Music room, she wondered why she was there. It wasn't as if she didn't know. She just still couldn't believe it. She actually met someone who was more evil than herself and who forced her into _slavery_! If that didn't sound bad enough, that person was in fact her very own most hated enemy!

On this very fine afternoon, after a refreshing music class, when everybody was still smiling and appreciating the last notes of the sparkling tunes of music – Natsu knew that her refreshing moment was over. Waving a brief goodbye at Haruhi and the twins, she thudded her feet as fast as she could to scramble all the way up to the Third Music Room.

"Please, please, _please_ let me be early…" As she sprinted she prayed, hoping God would hear her. But Akazawa Natsu was never a favourite of luck.

She bumped the door open only to find a figure – that one single figure, wearing those reflective glasses of his, smiling seemingly harmlessly at her very own tired face,

"Natsuki-kouhai, you are late."

Liar, she was not late. She was earlier than everybody in the club – everybody except for Ootori Kyouya.

She sighed as she ignored her senpai and strode towards her own pile of notebooks. He had an unfair advantage. His classroom was on the same floor as the Third Music Room. She slumped down on the closest chair grumpily and flipped open one of her most recent entries, only to be ordered barely a second after her poor butt has touched the chair,

"Natsuki-kouhai, please pour me a cup of tea." Kyouya maintained his "friendly" smile as he booted up his laptop, "You should know the routine by now. Every time you're late, you are obliged to make a pot of tea in that teapot and pour me some tea – don't forget to use the right tealeaves."

Natsu clenched her fists as she slammed her notebook down on the desk and lifted herself up.

"And no slamming of objects," Kyouya added, typing in his password.

Natsu rolled her eyes and marched towards the teapot. She stuck out her tongue as she scattered tealeaves around the hot water.

"Tsk, tsk, no making weird faces." Without looking Kyouya accurately addressed, prompting Natsu to wonder whether he was human.

"Thank you," When Natsu finally managed to deliver the cup of tea into Kyouya's hands, the latter nodded and proceeded to point at his laptop, "Oh, look, Haruhi's used plates were sold for 100,000 yen."

Natsu peeked over her slave driver's shoulder dubiously, "Really? 100,000? I was expecting only half of that. I guess that covered the last bit of the costume expenses from last week's cosplay."

"With considerable profit," Kyouya stared at the screen pensively, "At this rate, Haruhi will pay off her debt in no time. It was my mistake to cut her debt by a third."

"Why?" Natsu inquired with a raised eyebrow as she walked away from the laptop to dust a nearby piano as Kyouya had earlier instructed, "She's paying off her debt. It's a good thing, right?"

"Perhaps it is," Kyouya affirmed, "However, with Haruhi's natural talent, the Host Club will only prosper at a quicker rate. It is only natural that I want to keep her around."

Natsu sighed as she lifted a vase, "It's a high school club, Ootori-senpai. Go easy. Quit using people."

"Oh? And this is coming from _you_?" Kyouya retorted, and lost no time to punish what he considered an "insensitive remark", "You made an insensitive remark. Tomorrow you will go pick up the latest cosplay costumes I ordered, be dressed in one of them when you enter this door, and buy instant coffee in place of Haruhi. And try not to be late like you were today."

"What!" Natsu exclaimed and spun around, nearly dropping the vase, "Look, I know I'm supposed to be your slave or whatever, but this is overdoing it! It's bad enough that you're assigning me ridiculous tasks, but by saving _other people_ from doing it so you can torture _me_ alone – isn't that just a _bit_ too much?"

Kyouya sipped casually on his cup of tea, "Too much? Not at all. In fact, you should feel lucky. I didn't punish you today even though your tea is a little too strong. But now that you talked back, you deserve a bit more punishment. Hmm." He scanned around the room, ignoring Natsu's flaring temper, "Ah, that plant there is dying. Go prune it. When I come back tomorrow I want to see it half recovered. I don't believe that we have any garden scissors in the _music room_, so go buy a pair now."

"With. Much. Pleasure." Natsu spat through gritted teeth and stormed towards the door, pulling it open violently only to find Hunny and Mori reaching out their hands ready to open the door. That didn't seem too terrifying until Hunny started crying upon seeing Natsu's face.

"WAHHHH, it's an _oni_! A demon! A vampire! Takashi, help meeeeeeee!" The loli shota backed off and jumped onto Mori, large eyes filled with dread. Natsu calmed herself down and raised an eyebrow, "Hunny-senpai, it's only me."

"Ha?" Hunny blinked, clutching tightly onto Bun-Bun's ears as he trembled to look back. His tears immediately stopped and were replaced by a cheerful grin, "Oh, cool, Na-chan! Where did you learn to make a scary face like that?"

"Oh my," Kyouya's glasses shined suspiciously on the side, "Is this to say that Natsuki-kouhai in fact was _unhappy_ about the task I assigned her? If that plant is not half recovered by tomorrow, you will have to, I'm afraid, start your scheduled task of making a new layout for the club auction website early. It was scheduled for next week, I believe. And if I'm unhappy about that plant, you'll have to commence with your HTML tomorrow."

"I. Under. Stand." Without much objection and knowing that objection would do her no good, Natsu sprinted away from the Third Music Room as quickly as she could. How she wished she had the capability to never return. But her _life_ actually depended on her auction account, and she no longer retained the right to act as she liked.

Hunny and Mori watched curiously as Natsu disappeared down a flight of stairs.

"Ne, Kyo-chan, have you been slaving Na-chan around again?" Hunny asked with a sigh, tilting his head to catch a last glimpse at the sprinting Natsu. "You're driving her crazy!"

"Oh?" Kyouya leisurely returned to casually sipping his tea, "Well, she can handle it."

"I don't think so," Hunny waved one of Bun-Bun's ears in protest, "She's always running around whenever she's involved with the club. She's always dead tired after a Host Club session! It's sad to watch Na-chan slave around like that! We wanted her to be happy, but she certainly isn't looking happy."

Kyouya shrugged, "Not my fault. Anyway, this weekend is going to be a boring one. Any of you have an idea what we should do?"

"We do!" The twins suddenly barged in, an ever so mischievous grin on their faces, "We should go visit Haruhi's place!"

"I simply _refuse_!" Behind them came a running and panting Haruhi, stretching her poor arm out, her complexions giving the impression that she was seized by a serious nausea, "Whatever you do, I'll join, but please _don't _come over."

"Oh, Haruhi!" As if things weren't bad enough for her, Tamaki suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "It is a must for an Otou-san to care for a daughter! Do not worry – your life of poverty, your pain, your scarred feeling, will forever be shared by your beloved Otou-san - "

"Not necessary." Haruhi interrupted simply, "If I really am your beloved daughter as you say, do leave me alone."

Needless to say, Tamaki rushed to a corner for refuge. Haruhi ignored him and sighed, "I don't know what prompted you all to think that I am dead poor. The fact is, I'm not – not _that_ poor anyway. And there isn't a thing about my place that's interesting."

"But we all just want to see how Haru-chan lives, ne?" Hunny pouted innocently, his eyes sparkling with interest, "Takashi, you'd like to see how Haru-chan lives, right?"

"Yeah," Mori affirmed.

"Look, look," Haruhi backed off, "I can go scrub floors or help Natsu or something for the week, but I beg you to not disturb me on a weekend. I have lots of work to do."

The Hitachiin twins blinked in unison, "You'd prefer helping _Natsu_ to having us over?"

"You talk as if she's dirt," Haruhi sighed again, "And you're right. I'd rather help her. I feel like we are in the same boat. I sympathize with her."

Kyouya's glasses shined, "You are saying you feel like being slaved. That is unforgivable."

The twins gave each other a sly look. Then they shrugged. "All right. If you go help Natsu, we won't go to your house this week."

"What?" Tamaki protested with a river of tears, but again was ignored as he faded dejectedly into the background.

"So… where _is_ Natsu? She came up here right after the bell, didn't she?" Kaoru raised a dubious eyebrow.

Hunny delivered a forkful of cake into his mouth, "Na-chan is off to buy a pair of garden scissors!"

"Garden scissors?" The twins exclaimed with dropped jaws, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Kyo-chan thinks that plant over there needs pruning and Kyo-chan wants to see it recovered by tomorrow," Hunny pointed at the plant, half dead due to lack of water. Hikaru marched over and poked a withering leaf with scrunched eyebrows and remarked honestly, "But this can't be fixed by pruning! It needs water! _Lots_ of water! Kyouya-senpai, you know very well that this thing can't recover by tomorrow."

Kyouya grinned, "But that's the point, isn't it?"

Haruhi noted yet again Kyouya's brutality. "So I'll see if I can find Natsu in the department store - "

"No, Haruhi, you must host." Kyouya flipped through his pages of requests and smiled, "You seem to have more than five requests today. What do you think I'm going to tell all your guests? That you went off to help our club slave out with some garden scissors? We won't go to your place this week, so no worries about that."

Haruhi sighed heavily as she massaged the side of her head and went for a seat.

As for how Natsu reentered the Third Music Room with a massive pair of scissors in her hand, not to mention with a ferocious bloodshot pair of eyes, scaring _all_ the customers away _again_… that was another story.

* * *

"Shrimp is on a discount this week. Nice. It's the last one too." Haruhi mumbled as she reached her hand out for the last box of shrimps – but before she could retrieve it, another hand clasped desperately onto the shrimp box, the owner of that hand sounding as if she wanted to eat her alive, "Discount shrimp is _mine_."

"Oh, uh," Haruhi turned to face the attacker, only to drop her jaw, "Natsu?"

"Huh? Haruhi?" Natsu put away her demon face and blinked, before sheepishly laughing and shoving the shrimp into Haruhi's basket, "Haha, sorry, I didn't know it was you. I've been looking for discount shrimp for weeks. But I guess I could give it to you, given that you've helped me out so much these days."

Haruhi shook her head, retrieving the shrimp and putting it into Natsu's basket instead, "If you've been looking for shrimp for weeks, you should have it. We ate shrimp only yesterday. Come to think of it," the girl was soon overcame with a question, "Why are you shopping in a supermarket?"

"Eh?" Natsu laid her fingers onto the box of shrimp, mumbling in confusion, "Of course I'm shopping in a supermarket. Where else do I get food from?"

"No, I mean… why are you shopping in a _commoners'_ supermarket?"

Natsu twitched, and laughed knowingly, "Oh, you mixed me up with _those_ guys. Remember, I am in the same boat as you are and I live alone. And since I moved out, I can't really overspend my money, so I settled for a cheap apartment, meaning that I have to do the work myself, right? Plus, what they call 'commoners'' stuff is cheap too. And I don't really see the big deal in this commoner thing."

"Ah, true," Haruhi nodded pensively, "You certainly seem happy today."

"For sure!" Natsu hummed as she twirled around for a happy dance, "You know how weekends are. More importantly, I don't have to deal with that _horrid_ Host Club."

Haruhi couldn't agree more.

"Actually, I was thinking," Natsu lifted the box of shrimp and stared at it curiously, "You want to share this box of shrimp? You know, form a strong alliance? Sisterhood? Boy, don't I sound like a Lobelia student…"

Haruhi chuckled at the allusion to the even more horrid Zuka Club. "Sure! But how?"

"You wanna come over and have lunch together? My apartment's just down that way," Natsu pointed south and voluntarily invited with a smile on the face. "I get lonely on weekends. And we can bash the Host Club together!"

Haruhi laughed, "An appealing offer. But I can't – I bought too much stuff, and I'll need to cook for Otou-san. My place is pretty close too. Why don't you come over to my place instead?"

"Oh, I don't know…"

"C'mon! I see you don't have much shopping done. You can drag those things over and they'll fit in our fridge."

"Okay then." Natsu nodded after a bit of hesitation. "Let's go pay and be prepared for a _very_ rare girls' chat!"

* * *

Of course, that wasn't the case.

Haruhi regretted coming home. Natsu regretted coming with her. Both wished they were at Natsu's place instead.

It couldn't be, Haruhi thought. They _promised_!

Certainly they did. Which did not at all explain that polished shining BMW that pulled to a stop in front of her apartment. On top of that everyone was wearing _fur_! These rich kids, these rich kids… just wouldn't leave Haruhi alone!

Promises from Host Club members are not credible.

"Um," the then seemed _real_ unwanted Natsu stammered upon seeing faces she so thoroughly despised, "Haruhi, I'm sorry, but can I leave?"

"Please don't," Haruhi too stammered, "If you leave, I'll be a goner."

"And if I don't, I'll be mummified in no time," the poor Natsu pointed out realistically, but Haruhi's hand clutched so tightly around her wrist and she could not possibly leave.

They watched in uniform horror as Tamaki raised his arm narcissistically, remarking to the rest of the club, telling them to "behave" and "never let Haruhi utter the words 'go home'". They flinched even more as the twins put on their ever so dangerous grins.

"Haruhi, please, please, _please_ let me go before it's too late? You can have all the shrimp and I'll never buy shrimp again for the rest of my life - " Natsu panicked and begged, eyes filled with dread. But Haruhi seemed to not have heard her, because she was too busy yelling "GO HOME NOW!"

The image was not pretty. Haruhi the usually calm was on the brink of breaking down, while Natsu the usual hothead was wincing in terror.

This image reverse greatly surprised the Host Club, but nevertheless their attentions immediately fixated onto Haruhi's cute hoodie. The twins gave two thumbs-up, "The beauty of hoods and simplicity! Nice!"

Natsu sighed and put away her scared impression. Time to meet her doom.

Haruhi dragged her towards the apartment door, glaring at the unwanted visitors on the way. She then made it clear to the landlady that these guys were not part of a serial-killing gang – these were Haruhi's friends.

Haruhi's friends, Natsu's nightmare. Haha.

When Haruhi was persuaded by Hunny to "eat cakes together in her household", Natsu's only thought then was –

"I want to go home…" She whimpered pathetically as Hunny gave her a nudge and pushed her in.

* * *

Natsu tucked herself away at a corner, trying to blend in with the wall, holding one of Haruhi's math books in front of her face. She did not talk to anyone, and she did not _want_ to talk to anyone. She was more than used to being left out of Host Club gatherings. As long as Kyouya paid no attention to her, her stay at the Host Club would be considered merry. What more could she ask for? She started out as a thief.

Still. At least _one_ of them could be human enough and ask how she was doing! But no, they were all centered around Haruhi. She could understand on Haruhi's part – the girl was bugged so much that it was impossible for her to communicate with Natsu. Natsu was grateful enough for the few concerned glances that Haruhi was sending over. But the others! Certainly, she started out as a thief, but when she stole things she didn't know that she'd be forced to join the club just days later! And these guys _asked_ her! They could at least _pretend_ to have uttered a sincere invitation!

Either way, she was new – too new, and she wasn't about to be accepted by anyone anytime soon.

Natsu was wearing white. It was good. It helped her blend in with the wall. If she looked like the wall throughout the Host Club's stay, she might be able to be spared from Kyouya's, and sometimes the twins' wraths.

Putting down the math book, she stared through the balcony window and spaced out. Perhaps she _was_ a lonely soul in need of salvation after all. Even if she didn't feel like one – she certainly seemed like one then. Not being ordered around by Kyouya was definitely a merry, but being void of things to do seemed utterly… boring. She would rather go get another pair of garden scissors instead of sitting here for the rest of the afternoon.

Minutes passed. Laughter brushed by Natsu's ears. Her presence was still ignored. Her butt was sore. One of Natsu's weaknesses was sore butts. They drive her crazy; and one of the many things that Natsu feared was sitting in the same spot for way too long.

She sprang up in frustration and declared as she went for the door, "If you don't need me, I'll be going now. My gradually hardening behind is gradually eating away my patience."

She was more than glad to hear no objection from anyone. Something of Haruhi's muffled voice came, definitely from behind some hands, but seeing as Natsu couldn't make out what it was, Natsu ignored it and opened the door.

"Aah, but Na-chan!" To all's surprise, at the last moment Hunny objected, "You should at least eat the cake before you leave, ne?"

Twitching in frustration, Natsu turned around with a Godzilla resemblance on the face, "Oh? Cake? It's almost two hours past noon and I don't even see a cake _crumb_ in sight. If you're not hungry, great. But _I _am. So if you'll excuse me, I'll go have my heavenly lunch now while you all indulge on the poor toy Haruhi."

The Godzilla face was _scary_. _Very_ scary.

So in approximately 2 seconds Natsu found herself sighing and crouching and patting a crying Hunny's head, "Look, Hunny-senpai, I'm sorry I scared you. As you can probably see, I'm not exactly in the best of mood. I've already lost all my dignity upon joining this cursed club, so it won't hurt telling you – sitting in the same spot and acquiring a sore butt is one of the top phenomena that irks me. Sore butts have the tendency to drive me crazy."

Hunny's sobs gradually died a way, replaced by a smile, "I get it. Na-chan is jealous of Haru-chan!"

"What!" Natsu's patting hand stopped in midair as she screamed, causing others to plug ears. The ever so protective Tamaki reacted by instinctively jumping in front of Haruhi, "Jealous of my daughter? Natsu, how dare you? I thought we were all family here – that's why I proposed you all to call each other by the first names – but _jealousy_? This is simply - "

"As you are not about to finish that monologue anytime soon, let me save myself some boredom and tell you," Natsu interrupted with a bored voice, "This isn't about jealousy. This is about sore butts and sore butts only. I'll take my leave now. Then I'll clear of myself of this accusation and insanity."

"You know it's not an accusation, Na-chan." Hunny pointed one of Bun-Bun's ears at her cheerfully, "You're unhappy about being left out, am I right? You shouldn't have apologized to me! We're the ones who should say sorry here, ne, everyone?"

Hunny turned questioningly towards everyone else. Mori, of course, agreed instantly. Haruhi was unable to comment due to her mouth being covered by the twins' hands. The said twins and Kyouya snorted. And Tamaki? Well, he was _kind of_ moved, seeing as he made a tearful apology and immediately went back to talking to Haruhi.

But at least no one retorted.

Natsu sighed and shrugged, but it was perhaps the first time she smiled willingly in front of the Host Club. It was such a phenomenon that even Kyouya turned his head to stare.

"Thanks, Hunny-senpai, but I am self-conscious of how unwanted I am here," Natsu stood up. Somebody knew what she was thinking and she felt better. That was good enough for today. She shook her head amusedly as she turned her heel and waved her hand, "So I will - "

"WAAAAIT!" Haruhi finally broke loose of the evil claws of the twins and proceeded to drag Natsu's arm, "Of course you're wanted here! I invited you, remember? I don't know about others, but I'm hungry to death. I bet you are too – so let's cook that shrimp we bought together!"

"Shrimp…" Natsu brought a finger to her chin and mumbled dubiously, "… Would _that_ go well with cakes?" She stuck out her tongue disgustedly, but gave way, "I guess it doesn't matter… they're all food."

"Oh, oh, so Na-chan agreed to stay for the cake?" Hunny bounced in triumph, "Yaaaay!"

"Fine, but just the cake."

Tooyama Natsuki, a.k.a. Akazawa Natsu, did not yet realize that revealing her dislike of sore butts was the first step she took towards the friendly circle of the Host Club.

* * *

**Yue: **How did you like it? Anyway, it wasn't the best chapter I have done, but I guess it was okay. Hint hint, Hunny will be forbidden to eat sweets in the next chapter.

Review now, ne?


	4. Sweets: BANNED!

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran. But no. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **Sorry about how I keep changing the summary. I just never seem to be satisfied with it.  
Anyway, this chapter is rather long too. And you've been warned – I always write long chapters and play around with words. It's my style XD. Sorry if redundant words annoy you. This chapter was very fun to write, and I hope you like it. And of course, please **review**.

Thanks to _Melissax3_, _TheWinchesterAngel_, and _Bustedwitch_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 4 – The sweets ban!

On this fine day – oh so very fine – there were absolutely no signs of suffering, not even on the Host Club slave Akazawa Natsu, with the real name being Tooyama Natsuki.

"I am D-ONE!"

Natsu clapped her hands happily as she stretched in front of Kyouya's laptop. Another burden cleared! She could rejoice, and cheer, and sing at the top of her lungs – until Kyouya assigns her another task.

But that didn't matter. She was getting used to Kyouya's wraths. Besides, she just made a _master_ web layout! After days and days of hard work! How could she _not_ be happy?

Kyouya leaned over from a nearby chair to inspect, "Oh? Let me see?"

The Shadow King rudely lifted the poor slave out of the chair and proceeded to view this web layout himself. Natsu's smile widened as he went along, not uttering a word of objection.

She snickered to herself. HA! This layout is so mastery that not even _Ootori Kyouya_ could pick out a flaw –

"Natsuki, there is a bit of a line sticking out there on that image, and the colour of the arrowheads on the scrollbars doesn't match with the rest of the site."

This man, this man… Natsu proceeded to grit her teeth but stopped halfway and resolved her increasing anger into a smile. There was no need to argue with such a… meticulous being, particularly when she was in such a great mood! "All right, all right… that'll take about ten minutes to fix."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow, "You certainly seem happy today."

"Indeed." Natsu hummed cheerfully, "So forget it. I will handle all my tasks today with grace and no traces of being agitated! Scrubbing floors, dusting pianos, pruning plants, picking up supplies – I don't care! If you are trying to make me mad, I'm sorry – it ain't working. Not today."

"Oh?" Kyouya's smile widened into a smirk, "Okay. So what if I tell you to host?"

"Pfft, host?" Natsu laughed it off, "Why would you tell me to host? You know very well that you'd only be losing profit, if a cripple like me attempt at hosting."

Kyouya nodded, personally couldn't agreeing more, "I do. But strangely, I have received five requests for a being named 'Akazawa Natsu' since this morning."

"Pigs can fly, Kyouya-senpai." Natsu snorted. She's been at the club for a while now – long enough for her to start calling her loathed senpai by his first name – and she hasn't received a single request. Not that she wanted to be requested. She always saw it as a laughingstock – her unpopularity, that is. It was something that reminded Natsu that Natsu was still Natsu. Her unpopularity was one of the things that comforted her, one of the things that made her realize that spending time with this crazy Host Club has _not_ thrown her normal life upside down.

"They certainly can," Kyouya's voice sounded amused as his hand shoved his notebook under Natsu's nose, "See? What are these?"

Natsu cast her eyes towards the paper. Her eyes widened in horror as she read on. By the time she reached the end of the lines, her face looked like a crying goblin as she screamed in terror,

"NO WAY! _FIVE_ PEOPLE REQUESTED_**ME**__?_"

The scream successfully caught the attention of every club member in the room – certainly part of the loudness, but mostly the _content_.

The twins were the first ones to react by giving Natsu two pointy index fingers and a nice, heartwarming "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA…". Hunny dropped his fork as one of Bun-Bun's ears magically "withered". It was impossible to tell what Mori was thinking. Tamaki's jaw inelegantly dropped. Haruhi, normally Natsu's friend, did not take her side this time as she simply gave a hopeless sigh, "My, my, Kyouya-senpai is going to lose some profit today."

"… Gee thanks, Haruhi, real comforting."

"But I won't," Kyouya justified with an ever so gracious and innocent smile, "If Natsuki decided to play the hero and save someone's life in the morning, it's not really my fault, is it? Provided that Natsuki saved a life, she will be viewed as a hero today; and no matter _what_ she does wrong, she will be worshipped as a God-like figure for the _entire, after, noon_."

It was obvious that the last words of the Shadow King was to enhance the fear coming from Natsu, and it was obvious that he had succeeded.

"Wait," Hikaru mumbled dubiously and pointed at Natsu, "You saved a life?"

At that Natsu put away the her "Scream" face and replaced it with a dubious one, "Good question, Hikaru. I saved a life? Why don't I recall it?"

"… How can you not recall your own doing?"

"Shut up, Hikaru. I don't remember little details of everyday life."

"Saving a life is a _little detail_?"

"Sure! So… when did I save a life again?"

"Let's see," Kyouya flipped his notebook, "So, this morning…"

* * *

_Akazawa Natsu was walking to school. Suddenly, he (because everybody thinks she is a he) spotted an empty coke can being thrown by third year Ayanokouji towards a nearby girl believed to be Renge. He sprints swiftly over and catches the can, unbeknownst to him that he looked… cough, in Renge's words, very princely and cool. After catching the can, he preached Ayanokouji with strong eloquence, forcing Ayanokouji to immediately retreat. Then he turned around with a smile to ask whether Renge was okay. In Renge's eyes, there he was, a never-before-seen prince with cool black roses surrounding him… and many girls were around to catch this heartwarming scene…_

* * *

"…And that's how Natsuki over here saved Renge's life." With that, Kyouya finished off the story, his smile interested and utterly dangerous.

"_That's_ called saving a life?" Natsu roared furiously, "That's… sad!"

The twins shrugged, "To _Renge_, that's more than saving a life. Good luck, Natsu."

"Wha – hey! Aren't you going to save me from this hosting insanity? I swear I will only bring misfortune to hosting businesses."

"Why should we save you?" Kaoru shrugged, "You're a thief _and_ a slave!"

Natsu sighed hopelessly, "Okay, true enough. Then I shall be so awful at this and scare them all away again! You will all lose some profit today – guaranteed!"

"Ah? Is that so?" When Kyouya spoke Natsu knew that she was busted, "I was planning on ending your slavery this year, but since you're making me lose profit, how about you be my slave until I graduate?"

"NO! I take that back!" Natsu screamed desperately. She would _not_ devote herself to horrid slavery for another entire _year_.

Kyouya shrugged and resumed smiling in a creepy manner, not forgetting to take a sip on the tea that Natsu made for him just moments ago, "So, Natsuki, will you host?"

It wasn't like she had any other choice. Natsu sighed in dejection, "Fine, I will - "

"WAH - "

"Wah?" The club members blinked dubiously towards where that cry came from. The eyes landed uniformly on Hunny, a massive cake in front of him and the handle of a fork sticking out of his mouth.

Tamaki walked towards Hunny with a concerned expression on the face, "Hunny-senpai, what's wrong?"

Hunny bit on his fork and refused to answer.

"Um, um," Haruhi suggested, "Maybe he poked his tongue with the fork?"

"Naw, it can't be," Hikaru shrugged, "I'd say that it has to be a - "

Natsu was more than startled when a certain Mori beside her performed such move as a tiger leap. When he had landed, he was holding onto Hunny's jaw – and a black spot revealed on one of Hunny's shiny white teeth.

" – a cavity," Kaoru finished off the sentence.

"Le gasp!" Tamaki sprang up in surprise, "_Another _cavity! Hunny-senpai, how could you?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow, "… _Le_ gasp? Anyway… is a cavity that much of a big deal?"

"Um, yes." Haruhi explained, "When Hunny-senpai gets a cavity, all sweets will be _prohibited_, and the Host Club will be void of any activities until Hunny-senpai's cavity is taken care of. It's one of Tamaki-senpai's family things."

"WAAAH, Takashi, I'm sorry, okay? I swear it doesn't hurt!" Hunny waved his arms in despair as Mori "ruthlessly" gained hold of the nearest cake plates. "It doesn't hurt! It'll be fine in no time!"

But it was futile. All Mori did was to shoot Hunny a rare demonic glance.

"It is prohibited, Mitsukuni."

Natsu shook her head hopelessly as she watched Hunny going on to cry himself a river. Suddenly, a phrase of Haruhi's lit her mind, and she jumped in realization. "Haruhi, did you say that the Host Club will be void of _any_ activities?"

"Um, yes?"

"Does that mean I don't have to host?" Natsu blinked a pair of hopeful shiny eyes at Haruhi, making the latter back three large steps off, "Um, I don't think so…"

"YEEEEESS!" with great contrast to Hunny's grief, Natsu bounced up in triumph and delight, and rushed to give the grieving Hunny a big, warm, squeezing hug, "YOU AND YOUR CAVITY RE THE BEST, HUNNY-SENPAI!"

* * *

"You know, maybe I shouldn't have said that to him." Natsu scratched her head sheepishly while dusting a nearby exhibit, casting a guilty eye at the sulky Hunny, "Now he won't even look at me!"

"No duh." Kaoru stated plainly, "Cavity is the worst thing that could possibly happen to Hunny-senpai, and there you were, telling him that his cavity was the best."

Natsu defended eagerly, "Well, Hikaru or Kaoru, I was too excited to _not _have had to host! I meant no harm! On the other hand, however…" She paused her dusting to cast an eye at a grinning Kyouya, "Why are _you_ so happy, Kyouya-senpai? I thought you are losing profit?"

Kyouya shook his head disapprovingly, "I thought you would've learned by now; I'm not losing any profit because the auction portion of our website is still spanning. In fact, I'm cutting down spending because I saved Hunny-senpai's cake money."

"Oh. Right. Of course. My fault." Natsu rolled her eyes and went back to dusting, but was stopped by Hikaru, "Hey, you know Natsu, you should stop dusting that thing. It's shining clean. What you _should_ do is watch Hunny-senpai and his sweets-acquiring tactics!"

"Yeah," Kaoru grinned mischievously as he snatched the dusting pan out of Natsu's hand, "It's actually pretty… funny."

Even Haruhi had to agree with that one as she sprouted up from nowhere, "Indeed. But I do feel like of bad for him." The girls looked pitifully over at a slouching Hunny, apparently more than bored without a cake to indulge on.

"Is it really _that_ severe?" Natsu pointed out, "I mean, it's only _one_ cavity. It'll be fixed in no time! Shouldn't we just allow him with a little sweets?"

"A slave is in no place to say that." Some eerie chill came from behind, almost certainly giving off from a pair of glasses. This was followed by a "family speech" coming from the self-proclaimed King, explaining how one cavity could spread and how the entire family is not supposed to be ignorant to others' pains…

Kaoru interrupted the speech with a creepy grin, "Let's play a game, Natsu."

"Huh?" Sweat dripped down from Natsu's back. This did _not_ sound good. "What game?"

"Because you are _new_, Hunny-senpai will sure look to you as a source of sweets! If you can manage to _not_ give Hunny-senpai any sweets during his time of… er, recession, you win. And if you cannot resist his shiny eyes, we win. If you win, great. If we win, you will have to meet all your customers, and your slave sentence will be gained by… two months!"

"Ooh, I _like_ that idea," Kyouya chimed in agreement as more sweat dripped down Natsu's stiff back. She protested in fury,

"… What sort of a game – more importantly, what sort of a rule is that?"

"A slave is in no position to - "

"All right, all right! Fine!"

* * *

This was exactly when Natsu wished she was wearing some sort of chameleon like clothes so she could blend in with whatever that was around her. God must have detested her to have positioned her right behind Hunny in the lunch line! Oh certainly she could've waited… but if she didn't go, about fifty girls there would've swarmed right at Hunny – and frankly, Natsu was _very hungry._

So she just hoped that Hunny wouldn't notice her. He _was_ in front of her, after all.

But prayers are futile at times like this. Just as Natsu tiptoed towards the nearest cashier to demand her lunch, she was spotted.

"Na-chan, are you ordering any deserts today?" Hunny smiled at her, flowers flying all over the place, obviously starting his sweets-acquiring tactic.

"Um, um," Natsu stuttered. She didn't particularly care for sweets, but she needed dessert to survive a proper meal! "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"What are you ordering?"

"Um, um, a fruit salad, fried filet, soup set A and a _puny_ cake truffle." It was impossible to lie around Hunny!

"OOOOOOOh," Hunny's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing the magic words "cake truffle", "Na-chan, you're my friend, right?"

Noooooo! Someone help me! Natsu scanned around desperately for acquaintances, but all she found were a pair of snickering twins and a pair of shining glasses. Where were those others when she needed them? "Um, um, of course, Hunny-senpai!"

"A good friend shares his food, neeeeee?" Hunny's eyes were now shining, the light of hope flooding all over the place. An inner Natsu groaned in despair; and the twins pointing at her didn't exactly help her much either. "Um, y…yes?"

"So Na-chan will be good and give me a portion of her cake truffle, neeeeee?" Hunny cooed as he attached himself to poor Natsu's left arm. The latter never had much of a shield around her – never for these situations, anyhow, and she was left defenseless and panicking.

Noooooo! Some spirit! Kami-sama! God! Jesus! Anything that can save me! Natsu prayed, but every time she looked down, there they were – the puppy eyes that she _feared_ so much, the puppy eyes that she couldn't say no to… Funny how she could've bankrupted an entire company but couldn't say no to a pair of round, shiny eyes!

Akazawa Natsu realized just how weak she actually was.

Just then, she spotted a figure around the corner – ah! Just the right person! It was Mori! For the first time in her life, Mori seemed like the greatest saint there is.

Mori-senpai! She called desperately with her eyes, hoping he saw her. He did, thank _God_, and proceeded to come and lift Hunny away from the defenseless Natsu.

"WAHHH, Takashi! Yada! I almost had her!"

Darn right he almost had her. Natsu let out a sigh of relief and then immediately proceeded to make a face at the Hitachiin twins. They certainly looked disappointed.

But would she be so lucky _next time_…?

* * *

"NAAAAA-CHAN!"

The noes! He's at it again! Natsu's hand slipped in despair, letting loose of a massive jumble of tealeaves. She winced in what is known as a double-disaster-syndrome. Hunny-senpai was at it again _and_ Kyouya-senpai would _hate_ his tea! Can this get _any_ worse?

Sighing, she cursed her fate silently, handing the overly strong tea to Kyouya and turned to the then so Horrifying Hunny.

Oh. Man. "Horrifying" is too light a word!

Natsu trembled in fear as Kyouya nearly choked on the first sip and immediately proceeded to douse the tea into the nearest plant pot.

So what was so Horrifying with a capital H?

Why, Hunny was on the brink of tears!

Let's analyze this situation. Akazawa Natsu's real identity, Tooyama Natsuki, was specially trained to handle situations like this. But Tooyama Natsuki rarely handled these problems in person. She would gladly hurt someone, leave the room, and have enough servants to take care of the crying mess she made. For that, Tooyama Natsuki was known for innocently evil smiles and her ignorant ruthlessness – but little did those people out there know, Tooyama Natsuki never handled crying human beings because tears – especially a cute child's tears – was her most _fatal_ weakness.

"Na-chan, come, come!" Hunny cooed and cajoled and attached himself to Natsu's _right_ arm this time, "I wanna talk to you!"

"Um, um," Natsu cast a pleading eye at the sole other being in the room – Kyouya. The latter shot her a you-made-bad-tea-and-you-will-suffer look. With that, Natsu knew she was doomed – well, she never expected much coming from Kyouya in the first place.

So, yeah, she was doomed. Doomed. DOOOOOOOOOMED!

* * *

"WAAAAH, Na-chan!" As soon as Hunny and Natsu were out of Kyouya's seeing and (hopefully) hearing range, Hunny "attacked" with his shiny eyes, "I'm in pain! I want candy! I want it so badly! Na-chan loves me, neeee? She'll give her beloved Hunny-senpai some cake, neeeee? She won't let her Hunny-senpai die in despair, neeeeee?"

Mommy! Natsu's mind screamed desperately. She _never_ had to deal with a crying child – _never_! Calming herself down, she responded by looking elsewhere that had nothing to do with shiny eyes. She cleared her throat and answered seriously, "Hunny-senpai, you shouldn't. It's bad for your teeth. You'll get to eat all you want once your cavity is healed - "

But Hunny obviously wasn't listening to her, for he was too busy pulling on Bun-Bun's ears.

" – And then you'll have to work hard to not get a cavity, right? That's what you should be focusing on, not eating cakes and getting the hole even bigger! Plus - "

"Na-chan, look at me!" Hunny pulled the edge of Natsu's uniform repeatedly, forcing the girl to cast her eyes back to him – and she regretted very much of doing that, for Hunny was then sniffling, staring at the ground, tears spilling out of his eyes as he mumbled in dejection,

"Na-chan… am I a bad child? Do you hate me? Is it because you hate me that you're not giving me candy?"

AIEEEEE! Those _eyes_! Those _tears_! The inner Natsu really did resemble that "Scream" painting – almost exactly the same! "N…No way, Hunny-senpai! You know we all love you! This is for _your_ sake!" Someone save her! She's gonna give way if he asks one more time!

"Na-chan is a liar…" The eyes shined more as even more tears spilled down. Hunny clutched tighter onto Bun-Bun. "Na-chan won't give me cake because she hates me! WAAAAH, Na-chan, I'm sorry if I have been a bad child…"

No! No! Resist! But, but, the _eyes_! Natsu took a good three minutes struggling with herself. No, she simply wouldn't leave Hunny-senpai crying! And there was no way she'd enslave herself to that stupid Ootori Kyouya for two more months! So… Ah!

"Hunny-senpai, listen…"

She pulled the kid over and whispered in his ear. When the whispering was done, she gestured a "shh" with her index finger.

Hunny lit up instantly and nodded cheerfully, and left the corner pretending to still be sulking.

* * *

Natsu crouched in the bush and cursed herself. So why was she doing this again?

Oh, right. There was a crying Hunny and a murderous Kyouya. Both things she wanted to avoid. Indeed.

But not only that – why was Hunny _late_? She pouted grumpily and hugged the box tighter in her arms. If anyone sees her here, she would be dead. Pounded. Mummified. She'd have to deal with _both_ a crying Hunny and a murderous Kyouya. She'd much prefer only have to deal with one than both.

She tensed when she sensed some movement behind her. Gasping, she turned back, only to find Hunny's grinning head sticking out of a bunch of leaves, "Sorry, Na-chan, I had a bit of trouble on the way, hehehe…"

Natsu let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have to deal with both – she was sure of it. "I guess it doesn't matter. But we agreed – it's only a _little_, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Hunny jumped impatiently out of the bush and snatched the box out of Natsu's hand, opening it eagerly, "Wah-! Cake truffle! Na-chan, did you make this?"

"Yeah, these things are too expensive to buy," Natsu sighed, "It's a little messed up on the side. I only brought half of it because we agreed – only a _little_!"

Hunny nodded repeatedly, still wearing that grin on the face, "Yeah, only a little!" and immediately proceeded to stab a fork into the cake.

"You know, Hunny-senpai," Natsu watched the loli shota indulge on this small portion of cake truffle, "You were pretty scary and… dark this entire day; I thought you were going to rat me out!"

Hunny grinned cheerfully, "Nah! I was just a little cranky without sweets. When I realized that I would actually _get_ cake, I got happy!"

Natsu hugged her knees nervously and looked around. She really did hope no one was around. While glad she had been void of a crying Hunny, she didn't exactly like the idea of dealing with a murderous Kyouya.

"Na-chan, are you all right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Anyway, thanks!" The next second, the entire half cake truffle was gone, and the plate was shoved back into Natsu's hands, the culprit grinning as wide as ever, "Na-chan, you're the best!"

"Wha - " Natsu exclaimed upon seeing the empty plate, "You ate it all?"

Hunny scratched his head sheepishly, "Well it _was_ only half a cake truffle – and it was mighty good! Na-chan, you're good at this!"

"But whatever happened to _a little_?"

"Hehehehe…"

"HUNNY-SENPAI!"

Natsu proceeded to glare at the said Hunny, but froze in midair as a pair of creepy, same voices mumbled in a snake manner, right above the bush behind her, "Akazawa Na-tsu. You are _busted_!"

Poor Natsu mechanically twisted her head towards the source of the sound, only to find two exactly same faces, grinning the exactly same mischievous evil grins.

"You will now go back to the Third Music Room and _host_," Hikaru emphasized the last word on purpose while Kaoru nodded beside him.

"And you will be my slave for an extra _two months_." Natsu swung her head to the front, freezing more as she found that ever so intimidating pair of glasses. Hunny blinked at the smirking Kyouya, and then at Natsu, clueless, "Eh? What's this on about?"

And then a certain Mori appeared, freaking Hunny out entirely, "WAHHH, Takashi! I didn't do anything!"

"Mitsukuni, you will go to a dentist – _now_."

"EHHHHHHH? WAHHHH, TAKASHI, NOOOOOO!"

"Mitsukuni, you _must_ go to a dentist now."

"NOOOOOOOO! EEEEEEEEK!"

"Mitsukuni, you must go to a dentist now to pay back what Natsu did for you."

"NO – huh?" Hunny paused his waving arms in confusion, "What did Na-chan do?"

Kaoru shrugged, "Nothing big – except getting herself punished with the necessity to host and an extra two months of slavery. And her soul seems to be gone too…"

Of course, being constantly reminded of that, Natsu's soul has long left her body.

"Whaaat? How come Na-chan didn't tell me that?"

"No duh," Hikaru shrugged, "She probably thought it would make you feel bad. And she probably thought we won't find out. She really underestimates us."

Hearing that, Natsu's soul spontaneously returned as she sighed, defeated, "You know, I don't really care anymore. It's obvious that you guys are going to find excuses to torture me, even if I don't give Hunny-senpai any sweets. So yeah, I figured I might as well just face it – after all, I was stupid enough to enlist in Ouran."

"Ah, so it's that Haruhi attitude that you are adapting to…" Kyouya rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I will make sure you are void of that thought sooner or later."

Natsu backed off a step, bumping herself onto the bush. But what startled her even more was Hunny, suddenly crying again and jumping to hug her on the waist, "WAHHHH, Na-chan, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were risking an extra two months of slavery! WAHHHH, I promise I'll never get a cavity again!"

"Huh, what - " Natsu blinked in confusion as she patted Hunny's head with her right hand. Then she was lost of words. So… how did she end up dealing with _both_ a crying Hunny and a murderous Kyouya? So much for just trying to _avoid_ both!

This was just _not_ her day.

"…Hunny-senpai, won't you stop crying? You're not making me feel any better."

"Ehhhh?"

GAH! Not the _eyes_ again! "Okay, okay, I'm sorry for saying that, just stop crying now, okay?"

The small audience watched with raised eyebrows as Natsu repeatedly patted Hunny on the head, attempting to stop him from crying but he just refused to do so. "What a beautiful scene!" The twins chimed in unison, a creepy grin residing on the faces.

"If you're finished with this heartwarming scene," Kyouya interrupted coldly and sarcastically, dragging Hunny away from Natsu's waist, "I have five customers waiting for you to handle."

"What? Now?"

"Yes, _now_." Kyouya pointed his pen at the window of the Third Music Room. "_Now_, before I decide to - "

"I get it!" Jumping in horror, Natsu bounced with inhuman speed towards the Third Music Room, leaving all the bystanders behind, and cried desperately as she sprinted along,

"HARUHIIIII! HELP ME!"

* * *

"Eh?"

The day his cavity was finally fixed, Hunny blinked in bewilderment as Natsu stuffed a box into his hands, "What is this, Na-chan?"

"Cake truffle," Natsu answered in a matter-of-fact manner, "I've decided to bring you one everyday, seeing as you love it so much. Plus, I get kind of bored at night, so I don't mind making a few extra cake truffles."

"Really?" Hunny blushed in excitement, "_Every_day?"

"Yep." Natsu nodded, "But you have to promise to never come crying at me again if you get a cavity, okay?"

"What? Na-chan doesn't like seeing tears? I get it. I promise!" Hunny grinned cheerfully as Natsu winced. Great. Another one of her weaknesses has been exposed by the same person. So _deep_!

"Hey, slave," Kyouya addressed suddenly as he tossed a costume at Natsu's head, "Get changed. You have two requests today."

Natsu sighed as she turned her heel and proceeded to change.

Hunny would perhaps never know the very true intention behind Natsu's everyday cake truffle – so that he could get another cavity and save her from the sporadic brutal hosting. Hunny was happy as long as he had cake truffles. Besides, even though Natsu would like another cavity to take place – she was happy as long as he doesn't come crying at her.

Anyway, that was the story of how Akazawa Natsu, the real name being Tooyama Natsuki, gained the status of a "friend" in Haninozuka Mitsukuni's mind.

* * *

**Yue: **I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be dealing with **truth or dare** XD! WOOOOOHOOOO!  
Please **review** :D!


	5. Operation truth or dare!

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **Since I finished writing this so quickly (enjoyed it a bit _too_ much XD), I will satisfy you, awesome reviewers! And readers too, of course. Here is the great chapter of nothing but truth or dare! XDD Enjoy. And yes, a **review** again would be great.  
Thanks to _Froggerton_, _Opera-Gypsy_, _TheWinchesterAngel_, _xAmbivalence_, _shizouo_ and _Eternal-Bluerose-Yuri_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 5 – Operation truth or dare!

"…I'm bored."

Kaoru sank dejectedly onto his table and addressed to Hikaru.

"Me too."

Hikaru affirmed lazily, his head residing right next to Kaoru's.

"You're _still_ bored?" Haruhi sighed hopelessly at the twins, "You came and ruined my peaceful vacation in Karuizawa, had some kind of 'refreshing contest', brutalized an old friend of mine and you're _still_ bored?"

Tamaki protested tearfully on the side, "How could you say that, dear daughter? Otou-san is only concerned and afraid that you have been kidnapped and sold into Karuizawa!"

Kyouya ignored Tamaki and Haruhi, who were then engaged in some sort of cat-and-mouse chase, and remarked coolly, "It's your own fault to take on a job. You should obey the school rule, Haruhi."

Haruhi protested under Tamaki's hair-ruffling hands, "It's not like I had better things to do."

"Yes you did," Hikaru pointed out, "Like hanging around with us."

"…No."

"Le gasp! Haruhi, how can you say that?" Crying a river, Tamaki protested in a hurt manner.

"Quiet down!" Misuzu the pension owner restrained, "There's a customer coming." And then, immediately, the okama rushed to the person who just entered with the widest grin on the face, "Welcome to the Misuzu Pension!"

Hunny swallowed his cake and pointed at the newcomer, bewildered, "Ne, Takashi, do you think that's a boy or a girl?"

Mori scowled and did not answer. He couldn't tell.

"I think it's a girl," Kaoru raised an eyebrow after two good minutes of observation, "… a girl that has almost no chest."

"And horrible fashion senses," Hikaru added, distraught, "What's with those sunglasses? The lenses are shaped like flowers."

Tamaki remarked as the girl sat down at a nearby table, "The sunglasses don't match with her hat, and her elegant top just does _not_ go with the torn jeans – and what the heck is she wearing on her feet?"

Haruhi tilted her head in doubt, "…I think they're frog slippers."

Misuzu was clearly also disturbed by this girl's horrible fashion senses, but nevertheless greeted her with the ever so typical customer service smile, "Welcome to Misuzu Pension! We have great scenery and great food – and, just this summer only, an overdose of refreshing boys for ladies like you!"

"Refreshing boys? Why does that reek of trouble?" The girl raised her eyebrows in question and cast her eyes towards the Host Club. She paused. And then she calmly stood up and bowed to Misuzu, "I am sorry to bother you, but I just realized that there is something I have to do, so I won't stay here today."

"Oh." Misuzu mouthed disappointedly, "Okay then. Help yourself."

The girl nodded with a smile as she started striding unnaturally for the door, only to be stopped in mid-stride by the ever so sneaky voice and the ever so creepy smile of Ootori Kyouya's, "Where do you think you're going, _Natsuki_?"

"Natsuki?" The entire club chimed in unison, astonished, "NATSU?"

The girl turned and snapped irritably as she swiped her flower sunglasses off in disdain, "How can you tell when I'm dressed like this? I _hate_ you, Kyouya-senpai!"

"You're very welcome."

"Whoa, it _is_ Na-chan!" Hunny's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow, Kyo-chan knew the moment she entered the room, ne?"

"A slave-driver should know his slaves well, don't you think?" Kyouya's glasses shined.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA…" The twins pointed at poor Natsu and laughed in unison, "What's with those _clothes_?"

Natsu snorted with a roll of her eyes, "Well I'm _sorry_ if I don't know how to make myself look good. I like these clothes. They're comfortable and much better than troublesome skirts and heels."

"That is an excuse," Tamaki pointed out, narcissistic as always, "Oh, do not fear, my dear daughter's friend – it's no shame to be a fashion disaster. There are loads of your kind out there! Why, even Haruhi needs help with her closet sometimes - "

"Real comforting, Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi slammed dryly, then turning to Natsu with a smile, "I think your attire is lovely, Natsu. Why are you here in Karuizawa?"

"Boredom," Natsu sighed, "I simply wanted some time to wander around a nice town like this alone. Who knew I would meet the Host Club here."

The twins' eyes sparked with interest, "Won't you tell us what we can do to get rid of our boredom, club clown?"

"Huh?" Natsu tilted her head in thoughts, "You can always play a game."

"What game?" The twins chimed together dryly, "We don't want to play 'Guess which one is Hikaru' game right now."

Natsu shrugged, "Believe me, I don't want to play either. I'll never win. Why don't you play something more interesting, like Truth or Dare?"

"NOOOO!" Haruhi jumped in fear, but was ignored by all as the twins' eyes sparkled in _demonic_ interest this time, "Oh? Truth or dare? What sort of commoners' game is that?"

"You don't know?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, "I'll demonstrate. Haruhi, truth or dare?"

The latter backed off, "Why me?"

"You're my best friend! It's just a demonstration, Haruhi. I won't be cruel."

"All right… dare."

"Haruhi, I dare you to do five jumping jacks."

Haruhi let out a sigh of relief. That wasn't cruel. Natsu was true to her words. She shrugged and immediately did five jumping jacks as Natsu explained, "It's easy. You pick a person, you ask 'truth or dare'. If the person picks truth, you ask him/her something and they _have_ to tell the truth. And if he/she picks dare, then you'll get to dare them to do something and they must do it."

"Ooooh, I like the sound of that," Hikaru contemplated with a wiiiide grin on the face, "So we can ask _anything_ and dare _anything_?"

Natsu nodded, "Yep, _anything_."

"I _like_ that idea." Kaoru took over, grinning at a shuddering Haruhi, who was busy yelling at Natsu, "Natsu! What have you done?"

Natsu shrugged, "I haven't played this game in a long time. I think it'll be fun."

"Indeed." Kyouya snapped his fingers as eight random chairs were immediately brought in from obscurity.

"Um…"

"These are some of the newest lie detecting chairs we have imported," Kyouya grinned maliciously, causing all to back off, "So just in case someone picks truth… Oh, and if you lie or do not dare to do whatever another being dared you to do, you lose. Losers will get to…"

Misuzu spontaneously appeared with excitement, "Losers will get to clean the entire pension while wearing Misuzu's favourite cute attire – pink kitty dress!"

"Good idea." The rest of the club cuddled together as the infamous grin of the Shadow King surfaced.

"Anyway, I will gallantly start!" Getting over the shock, Tamaki bounced as he immediately shoved Haruhi onto one of the lie detecting chairs, "O dear Haruhi, truth or dare?"

"Er, truth?" Haruhi reluctantly picked.

"Oh, perfection!" Tamaki reacted by diving to the ground and grabbing onto Haruhi's hands, "Oh dear Haruhi, do you have any sort of affection for your dear, dear Otou-san over here?"

"?" Haruhi stared at Tamaki blankly, "No."

Tamaki froze. He waited for the lie detector to beep. One minute passed. Then two. Then three. No sound even close to a "beep" has been detected.

"Um," Haruhi reached out an arm at the sulking Tamaki in the corner, raising an eyebrow, "Why, I think I do have a puny bit of affection - "

"BEEEEEEEEEP…"

This did not at all help Tamaki. And the twins pointing at him and laughing only made it worse.

"That doesn't count," Haruhi pointed out, "I was only trying to make Tamaki-senpai feel better."

"Fair enough," Kyouya agreed. Besides, he himself did kind of enjoy what just happened. "It's your turn, Haruhi."

Haruhi looked around the room in bewilderment, and at last sighed, "Give me some time to think of a good one."

"We want to go next!" The twins jumped in unison as they turned their identical faces towards Kyouya, "Kyouya-senpai, truth or dare?"

Kyouya contemplated briefly over this and then uttered, wondering whether it was a good idea, "Dare."

"Ooooh," The twins grinned in unison. Hikaru mumbled evilly as Kaoru tossed a stack of paper at Kyouya's knees, "Here's a love scene script. Kyouya-senpai, play it out with Natsu."

Okay. It was not a good idea.

"WHAT?" Natsu roared in despair as Kyouya paled on the side, "That's not fair! _His_ dare should only pain _him_! It shouldn't involve such an innocent bystander over here!"

Kaoru smirked, "Oh? Who was the one who said we can dare _anything_? C'mon, you two, get a move on!"

"I decline to do so." Kyouya stated blankly, but upon seeing Misuzu waving the pink fluffy dress with a massive Hello Kitty sewed in the front, he immediately took it back, "On the other hand… Natsuki, get over here and read the darn script. The girl gets the first line."

Natsu reluctantly lifted her butt off of a lie detecting chair and squirted her eyes disgustedly at the very cheesy first line, spitting it out as blankly as she could, "I love you more than life itself."

Hunny giggled nonstop on the side as Kyouya muttered the next line just as blankly as Natsu did, "You are my lifeline. Without you I cannot live."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"No, I love you more."

"No, I love you more."

"No, I love you more."

"No, I love you more."

"No – WHAT KIND OF A SCRIPT IS THIS?" Pointing at the line "No, I love you more", apparently reprinted for at least ten times, Natsu roared in fury. The twins were banging on the wall, Tamaki was struggling to maintain a painless stomach, Hunny was rolling everywhere and even Mori was grinning. Haruhi, normally Natsu's friend, did not take Natsu's side this time, as she simply smiled and pointed out, "Natsu, that's not part of the script."

Kyouya sighed and suggested, "How about we skip to the next part? Your smooth hair and soft skin sets my heart on fire."

"And your perfect manly features make me sigh."

"How should I express how much I love you."

"Indeed, how should I."

"Won't you let me forever be your Valentine."

"Oh, ind - " Natsu read on, bored and disgusted, but the next line paused her as both she and Kyouya became completely frozen. Just as they thought they were at the end of this ridiculous script!

Tamaki protested with a grin, "Continue! We like this show, don't we, Haruhi?"

"We do indeed," Haruhi smiled innocently.

Natsu cleared her throat and continued to read, "Oh, indeed. Open bracket embrace and kiss close bracket."

"FOUL!" Kaoru roared as he trembled to stand up from too much laughing, "That's a stage direction. You're supposed to 'embrace and kiss', not read it out loud with 'bracket'!"

"I decline!" Kyouya and Natsu protested in sync, disgust all over the faces, Natsu especially. "Sorry, Kyouya-senpai, I simply refuse. You go wear that Hello Kitty dress. I will _not_ help you out."

Just as Kyouya was about to speak, Misuzu suddenly pulled out a cat ears' hat and a pair of squirrel slippers, claiming that it would go well with the dress. Kyouya paled even more. He would simply _not_ go around and _clean_ a commoners' pension in that sort of ridiculous attire! His image would be completely _ruined_! Desperately he reached for whatever was reachable of Natsu. The latter was very startled as she felt a pair of strong arms spontaneously pull and wrap around her. Then something soft pecked for a millisecond on her forehead as those same arms pushed her as far away as possible.

"HEY!" The girl flung around and protested in rage, while everyone else was busy laughing and catcalling. The culprit Kyouya shrugged as if nothing had happened, "I may despise the idea of having to hug a slave, but I despise more the idea of cleaning the pension wearing that… thing. Now, Natsuki, do you want to go next? I need some time to come up with a good one."

"Fine!" Natsu fumed as she turned her murderous eyes towards the twins, "_Hikaru_ and _Kaoru_, truth or dare?"

"Dare." The twins grinned in unison, "Duh."

"Great!" Natsu nodded in approval as she pointed an ever so sharp index finger towards the twins, "I dare you to hula dance in front of all the pension customers wearing nothing but _loincloths_!"

The twins' jaws dropped. Kyouya smirked and nodded. The rest laughed even harder.

"Man, Natsu, you're vicious!" Hikaru protested, but Natsu countered dryly, "I can dare _anything_."

Thus, the twins were obliged to wiggle their bodies in nothing but loincloths. It was indeed very entertaining, especially since they had the exact same faces, sour expressions, and movements. The… cough, front part of their loincloths flapped left and right as they continued hula dancing; such danger there was. It seemed as if they could… cough, _flash_ any moment. Everyone laughed even harder than they did in the love scene – especially Tamaki, since he really didn't get to ridicule the twins all that often.

When the twins changed back to normal, they blushed in sync as they demanded shyly at Natsu, "Satisfied?"

"Very," Natsu wiped the last bit of tears left from laughing too hard, "We're even. Now who's next?"

"Oh, yeah," Haruhi spoke, "I came up with a good one. Mori-senpai, truth or dare?"

Mori replied, "…Dare."

"Mori-senpai, I dare you to talk nonstop for five minutes and add 'uu-nya' at the end of every sentence."

"Ooooh, that's a good one!" Tamaki stuck out two thumbs at Haruhi. The latter merely ignored him.

"Uhh, okay." Mori cleared his throat and commenced, "… Konnichiwa, uu-nya. This is Morinozuka Takashi, uu-nya. I am eighteen years old, uu-nya. My zodiac sign is Taurus, uu-nya. I am in Ouran High School class 3-A, uu-nya. I am almost graduating, uu-nya. I brush my teeth at seven in the morning, uu-nya. I eat breakfast - "

So on and so forth, Mori went through his everyday routine – from brushing teeth all the way to changing into funky pajamas and going to bed, and each time he terminated a sentence he winced at the need to say "uu-nya". The entire club (except for Kyouya) was literally rolling all over the place.

"This is _so_ not Takashi, uu-nya!" Hunny caught the annoying sentence ender as he pointed at Mori's nose, hand shaking in laughter.

_Don't you laugh, Mitsukuni._ Mori scowled and thought as he opened his mouth, "Mitsukuni, truth or dare?"

Hunny's laughter paused suddenly as he heard his name. He clutched tighter onto Bun-Bun and seriously contemplated before sitting himself on one of the lie detectors, "Truth."

"How many _big_ cakes do you eat at night?" Mori demanded, looking serious as ever.

Hunny winced and wiggled uncomfortably on the chair, pausing for a good five minutes before finally spitting out a pathetic mosquito-like sound, "Six."

Then, before Mori had the chance to reproach him, Hunny jumped off the chair and turned cheerfully to Tamaki, "Tama-chan, truth or dare?"

Tamaki mumbled dubiously, "Hmm, both seem rather ruthless… but I've always wondered what it's like to be dared… Dare!"

"Hehehe…" Hunny chuckled innocently as he "magically" made five boxes appear out of nowhere, "Tama-chan, I dare you to eat five cakes _now_!"

And thus the club watched Tamaki indulge on cakes for the next thirty minutes. It was… not all that fun, especially in the end where Tamaki was literally _stuffing _everything, cream spread around his face.

"I feel sick." Haruhi deadpanned flatly, "Excuse me while I go set my eyes on something more elegant."

_No! Haruhi! _Tamaki reached a hand out as Haruhi marched away, but his mouth was so stuffed that he could not talk.

Anyway, when Tamaki finally cleared himself of cake, he remarked in a sickly manner at Hunny, "You know, Hunny-senpai, I wonder how you eat _six_ of these at night. Personally I will never eat one of these again. Anyway, my turn again – my daughter Haruhi has gone elsewhere! So, Kyouya, truth or dare?"

"Why me again?" Kyouya mumbled in disdain and sat himself on a lie detector, "Truth."

"Smile your true smile."

Kyouya smiled.

"Not that one, your _true_ one."

A few seconds later…

"AIIIIIEEE! EEEEEEK! AHHHHHHHH! ONIIIIII! HELLLLLLP! WE WANNA LIVE!"

A few passer-bys _really_ wondered at just what was happening in the Misuzu Pension.

When, finally, the ruckus died away, Kyouya cleared his throat, "I realize that Natsuki has not been asked yet. So, Natsuki, truth or dare?"

"Bleh, you noticed." Natsu snorted in discontent as she squirted her eyes at Kyouya, _seriously_ contemplating, "Um… um… d…dare?"

Kyouya's infamous grin surfaced yet again. "I dare you to hold two young chickens for five minutes."

"What?" The twins chimed dryly, "That's boring."

"Wait," Natsu paused the twins, black shadow plaguing all over her face, "Kyouya-senpai – _are you serious_?"

"More than ever." Kyouya responded with a smile.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow in doubt, "Huh? What's the big deal here?"

"I guess you don't know," Kyouya shrugged in a matter-of-fact manner, "Tooyama Natsuki, out of every living thing there is, fears _young chickens_ the most."

"Huh?" The entire club dropped the jaws in astonishment.

"How?" Haruhi inquired, "They're so cute!"

"Cute? CUTE?" Natsu freaked, "They're so _creepy_! They're always walking around and chirping at the same time, and then they _staaaare _at you in a scarier manner than cows do, and they peck everything they see! I'm sorry, but mini chickens are _not_ my favourite."

"Well, deal with it," Kaoru grinned demonically as he shoved two mini chickens that came from nowhere into poor Natsu's hands, "Five minutes. We'll time you."

One minute. Natsu's eyes were closed in trauma.

Two minutes. Natsu was sweating.

Three minutes. Natsu was trembling. The chickens chirped innocently in her hands, not knowing what was wrong.

Four minutes. Natsu's teeth chattered.

Four minutes and fifty-five seconds – "I GIVE UP!" Natsu screamed, void of all dignity as she tossed the poor little chickens away as fast as she could. Thank God Hikaru and Kaoru were quick enough in catching them, otherwise it wouldn't have been a pretty sight.

"No, Na-chan, you were so close!" Hunny pitied with an mismatching grin on his face, "You only had to hold up for five more seconds."

Natsu sighed in defeat as Misuzu hummed and shoved that horrid Kitty dress into her arms, along with the cat ears and squirrel slippers, "Well, _someone_ had to take a fall, right? Besides, I _really_ don't like mini chickens."

"Want us to aid you change?" The twins chimed happily, but Natsu shot them a death glare, "_No_."

* * *

"Faster, Natsu!" Hikaru whistled at the nearby slave, dressed in Misuzu's favourite attire, clumsily cleaning up a pile of nearby dishes. The poor girl could do no more than shooting him another death glare.

"But that was fun, wasn't it, Hikaru? We have to thank Natsu for this idea." Kaoru grinned happily, "Oi, Natsu, next time we play truth or dare you'd better be there, eh?"

Natsu sighed as she walked by where the twins were sitting, before shrugging and letting out a small chuckle, "You're right, it _was_ sort of fun. No worries – despite having had to dress up like this, I still love this game. Plus, this dress is not all that different from what I was wearing earlier."

The entire club agreed.

"Well, give me a call the next time you feel like playing." Natsu concluded, making a peace sign before rushing off to her doomed chores.

Haruhi looked up to Natsu's cat ears in awe. _She is one bold girl_.

"We most certainly will!" The twins waved at the back frizzes of that ridiculous pink dress, laughing and savouring the hilarity and absurdity of this very moment.

So there you have it – the story of how Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki, gained the status as a "friend" in Hitachiin Hikaru and Hitachiin Kaoru's minds.

* * *

**Yue: **Well, how did you like it XD? Please leave a **review** and tell me what you think :3! The next chapter will not be as interesting, as it'll be one that reveals more of Natsu's family background, but it should be fun to write for me :D. Thanks for dropping by!


	6. Kahoko

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **This chapter is not the most interesting, as it is another one of those background chapters with more background information. However, I assure you all that you _will_ like the next one (evil grin). Meanwhile, enjoy this as best as you can :D! And, yeah, a **review** would be nice.

Thanks to _Opera-Gypsy_, _Melissax3_, _Froggerton_, _shizouo_, _burningflame_, and _tuxie13_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 6 – Kahoko

"Welcome!"

Kahoko did not know where she was, or how she got there. But whatever she saw was astonishing enough. Roses. Perfume. Luxury. And, most importantly –

_Men! So. Many. Drop. Dead. Handsome. Men!_

Kahoko backed off, sweat dripping off of her back as her face reddened uncontrollably. So, again, where the hell was she?

"Oh, a lost kitten." Tamaki flicked his hair narcissistically, "But nevertheless, a pretty lady like her shall deserve our top treatment."

Haruhi tilted her head dubiously at Kahoko's uniform, "My, you're from Lobelia Women's Institute, aren't you?"

"Y…yes." Kahoko blushed even harder as Hunny approached her and started gaaaaazing at her with his puppy eyes, "I'm s-s-sorry! I must be in the wrong place. I'm looking for my sister."

"Oh, sister." The Hitachiin twins chimed in unison, "That's boring."

"Did you say that you're looking for a _sister_?" Tamaki suddenly exclaimed, "By any chance, have you been separated for a really long time?"

"Uhh, yes?" Kahoko's face reddened even more as Tamaki proceeded to grip her by the hands, "Do you miss your sister a lot?"

"Uhh, yes?"

"Oh!" Suddenly, Tamaki let go of her hands and twirled around, "A touching family story! Do not fear, young lady – we will help you find your long-lost sister, no matter what!"

Kahoko trembled in handsome-men shock as she humbly went for the door, "I'm s-s-sorry, I'm glad y-y-you would like to help me, b-b-but I think I'll find my sister on my own - "

"Sorry I'm late," The door clicked open again and greatly startled Kahoko as another figure entered – with the figure being none other than Akazawa Natsu, "I forgot to get the cake truffle for Hunny-senpai and I had to pick up some supplies - " The slave suddenly froze as her eyes met Kahoko's, "…eh?"

Needless to say, the club was _way_ too shocked as the mysterious Lobelia newcomer leaped eagerly towards Natsu, calling happily at the top of her lungs -

"Nee-sama!"

* * *

"Jeez, Kaho, what are you _doing _here?" Natsu pouted worriedly as she laid down a teacup in front of Kahoko's grinning face, while being relieved that there were not yet any customers when Kahoko blurted out "Nee-sama" full blast.

We suppose an explanation must be in order here. Tooyama Kahoko, your ordinary fourteen-year-old female student in the not-so-ordinary Lobelia Women's Institute. The girl is in her second year of junior high and shy in nature, but she's got _some_ brain. She is normally known for her very cute pigtails that swing whenever she moves her head, and for her drop-dead breathtaking fashion senses (with maybe just a bit of exaggeration). So yeah, this shy girl over here, almost the complete _opposite_ of Tooyama Natsuki, was Tooyama Natsuki's sister.

Oh wait, we forgot something. Kahoko was Natsuki's _step_sister. _Now_ it made sense.

Anyway, this Kahoko opened her mouth with a content smile, "I wanted to see how Nee-sama is doing in her new school! Besides, I haven't seen Nee-sama in months! Why are you dressed up as a boy?"

"When you got here, did you happen to see any of the girls' uniform?" Natsu sighed and inquired. Kahoko paused in thoughts as she nodded, "Yes."

"Then why do you ask?" Natsu shrugged in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Oh." Remembering her stepsister's dislike for dresses, Kahoko proceeded to change the subject as she peeked shyly around at all these handsome men (with one exception) that she just encountered, "Ano… are these all Nee-sama's friends?"

"Them?" Natsu snorted, "Not exactly. I'm their slave."

Kahoko's jaw dropped, "Nee-sama? Slave? To a host club? How?"

Natsu paused and attempted to come up with an answer, but obviously failed as she sighed, "Long story. But first, I think you should be introduced. Everyone," she grabbed hold of Kahoko's arm and pulled her up as a demonstrative doll, "This is my stepsister, Tooyama Kahoko."

Then Natsu went through the Host Club members one by one. When meeting the Hitachiins, Kahoko squealed loudly and proceeded to express her admiration for the twins' mother, the famous fashion designer. And when at last she was face to face with Ootori Kyouya, she was so shocked that she was nearly unable to speak.

"You're taking it a bit _too_ hard, Kaho." Natsu sighed.

Kahoko twitched before smiling apologetically, "Sorry. It's just a little surprising to learn that Nee-sama can actually healthily co-exist with Ootori Kyouya-sama."

At that Kyouya muttered dryly, "Well met, Tooyama Kahoko."

"Really, no offense intended," Kahoko shook her head defensively while Natsu snorted, "This slave-driver can certainly healthily co-exist with me, but I cannot healthily co-exist with him."

Kahoko was very wise in pretending to not hear that.

"Anyway, if you're finished with admiring how beautiful my stepsister is," Natsu shot a glare at Tamaki, "Please give us a moment of privacy." With that she guided Kahoko to behind the change-room-ish curtains, leaving a bewildered Host Club behind.

"You know what we should do now?" Hikaru suddenly grinned after moments of silence passed.

"What?"

"Why, go listen to what they're saying, of course!" Kaoru shrugged in a matter-of-fact manner, "We think that a _private _conversation between stepsisters shall be really interesting."

Haruhi sighed and shook her head, "You guys… I don't think it's such – HEY!"

It was the time for Fujioka Haruhi to wonder the insignificance of her opinions, because before she could even finish her sentence, she found the entire club cuddling beside the puny opening of the curtains. Haruhi decided to blame it on everyone else if Natsu ever finds out, and carried herself towards the little opening.

"I just haven't seen Nee-sama in months, and I really miss Nee-sama." Kahoko's timid voice stuttered sheepishly. When Natsu answered the club shivered. This wasn't the obedient slave they knew! This was… this was… the voice of a cold-hearted ruthless Queen!

"Really. Are you sure you have nothing else to tell me?"

"N…"

"Then go home. I do not want to see you here again."

"No! Nee-sama!" Kahoko sounded desperately worried, "I… I came to warn you, Nee-sama."

"Of?" The tone of Natsu's voice made all the club members doubt her true personality, which they saw as "tomboy with a short temper but obediently does all her work".

"N…"

"I ask again. What is this warning that you came to tell me?"

"O…O…" Kahoko stuttered, earning the sympathy of the eavesdroppers, but when she finally burst the sentence out, the sympathy turned to _extreme _surprise.

"Otou-sama is secretly negotiating with a well-known family to marry off Nee-sama!"

Hunny's jaw dropped as he looked at Mori. The twins came awfully close to fussing, but were restrained by Haruhi. Tamaki looked awfully serious. And even Kyouya seemed to care, seeing as an eyebrow of his was raised.

The silence beneath the curtains was almost frightening. And when Natsu spoke again, her tone sent a chill down everyone's spines.

"If that is all you came to tell me, Kahoko – consider this as a waste of your time. What Otou-san plans to ruin of my life is nothing you should care about. Go home, and do your homework. Do not waste your time again by coming here. Understand?"

When Kahoko finally managed to answer, she sounded as if she was on the brink of tears, "Y…Yes, Nee-sama."

With that she quitted the change-room curtains as everyone quickly scrambled back to where they was. The twins inquired a fake "Leaving so soon" and waved uniformly as Kahoko quitted the door. When the door clicked, Natsu exited, looking as normal as ever as she suddenly dove for the box she brought in.

"Na-chan - " Hunny opened his mouth, only to get the box stuffed into his hand with the "stuffer" wearing a massive grin, "It's a strawberry cake truffle today. I almost forgot to bring it."

When Natsu turned her back to start her chores, Hunny looked around. His eyes landed on Tamaki. One look and he knew – a mission, another mission that deals with family and background issues, was in order.

* * *

Let us omit the surprise Tooyama Kahoko felt when she was suddenly snatched into an unknown limo when she took no more than one step out of Lobelia Women's Institute. When she saw that she was surrounded by seven handsome men (with one exception) that she met merely a day ago, her surprise turned into _extreme_ surprise and some extra touches of handsome-men syndrome.

"Ano…" the poor girl began, not knowing where to start.

"Do not fear, Tooyama Kahoko-sama," Kyouya spoke first with perfect politeness and perfect smile (the reason being that Tooyama firm is one of Ootori firm's primary trading partners), "We are not here to kidnap you. We are here to inquire you about your sister."

"N…Nee-sama?" Kahoko twitched in surprise, and quickly shook her head in determination, "There is nothing to tell. I will not allow anyone to gossip about Nee-sama, especially not based on what I said."

"We're not going to gossip about her," The twins protested in unison, "We just want to know more about her."

"Yeah, yeah, Na-chan is our friend!" Hunny supported as Mori nodded. Haruhi had by then recovered from the this-is-a-stupid-mission syndrome and added sincerely, "I believe that Natsu is a very great girl, but I'd really like to know more about her. She won't tell a thing."

Kahoko paused in hesitation. But that hesitation was immediately wiped out upon another handsome-men syndrome attack, when Tamaki gripped tightly and earnestly onto her hands, begging with an almost hosting tone, "Beautiful Ohime-sama, the only intention we have upon asking you is to be able to understand your sister, so that we can provide a better environment for her!"

"Well, um, o…okay." Finally, Kahoko gave way and started off with a sigh. "Nee-sama is… awfully intimidating. Whenever she speaks to me, she is so strict and cold; it is almost as if she's trying to tame and discipline me!"

"I knew it!" Hikaru suddenly popped up, "So this girl _is_ a cold-blooded evil wolf in sheep's clothing!"

"What?" Kahoko scowled in confusion, "No, no, that's not it. Yeah, she does look a bit ferocious and she _is_ rather insensitive, but once you get to know her, Nee-sama is about the nicest person you'll ever meet!" Pausing again, she sighed and took a big breath. It was a rather long story.

"I, as you can see, am about the most typical everyday girl you'll ever meet. I was shy. In an outstanding family such as the Tooyama family, such female figures are normally not favoured. So when I moved into the Tooyama mansion, I had no friends; my mother and brother were… not the most understanding type." Kahoko sighed again. "I was scared of everything – from my new father all the way to my new maid! But what intimidated me the _most_ was, for sure, Nee-sama."

The twins looked at each other in bewilderment.

"When I moved in, I was told that I'll have a very welcoming and warm Nee-sama. It wasn't the case. Nee-sama back then was about as far away as 'warm' as possible." Kahoko twiddled her fingers sadly, "She glared at almost anything that approached her, and whenever I tried to say hi to her she told me to go away, in the coldest and scariest voice you can think of."

Kaoru interrupted in question, "… and that's _not_ an evil wolf in sheep's clothing?"

"No, no!" Kahoko shook her head, "Anyway, I couldn't believe my maid when she told me that Nee-sama used to have a really nice smile, so I did some research. And when I found a photograph of her, I could not believe my own eyes. So I started to try to get close to Nee-sama. At first she was annoyed, but after a while she realized I was truly trying to be her friend, and one day she suddenly smiled at me." The girl blushed and chuckled in embarrassment, "Sorry if this sounds cheesy. It's just that… it was very… weird. It was like discovering that a demon could and would actually smile purely."

Tamaki cleared his throat and cast an evading eye towards Kyouya. It was the other way around for these two, and Tamaki couldn't help but be reminded of those good old days…

"Anyway, for the month that Nee-sama and I had been together, we became awfully close. Nee-sama taught me so much; if it weren't for her counseling, I would never have survived in my new family. Nee-sama is a truly brilliant strategist." Finishing that, Kahoko suddenly frowned, "So imagine my surprise when my new father announced that I would have part of the estate and Nee-sama would have none."

"And from then on Natsu started being cruel to you?" Kaoru inquired, looking a bit dangerously interested.

"No." Kahoko shook her head, "Nee-sama congratulated me. She didn't seem surprised at all. A week later she moved out, and warned me to never try contacting her, because contacting her would do me no good. After she moved out, I learned about the… Ootori firm ordeal. I was astonished." The girl peeked shyly at Kyouya and apologized, "I hope you aren't offended."

"Not at all." Kyouya's glasses shined. In fact, he enjoyed learning possibly useful background information of people that surrounded him.

"Anyway, I followed Nee-sama's advice, but you have to know that despite what she did I still liked her and hoped she was around. She was great support. But," Kahoko cast her eyes to her feet shyly, "Recently, I get the feeling that Nee-sama doesn't… you know, like _me_ anymore! I know she told me to not contact her, but that's not a reason for her to start being cold to me whenever she sees me!"

Hikaru shrugged, "Well, why do you want her to like you so badly?"

Kahoko twitched and protested with a scowl, "Nee-sama is an awesome human being! You rarely find someone like her! Sure, you always get a grumpy face from her, but have you ever seen her shout in serious anger?"

"Actually, aside from yelling into the phone once, not really…"

"Exactly." Kahoko nodded, "Nee-sama is the type of person who does not actually get angry unless her work load or an annoying human being is driving her absolutely crazy."

The twins exchanged astonished glance, "Well… we'd think her work load _and_ a certain human being _are_ driving her crazy, and - " Then they shut up, because Kyouya was glaring at them.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Nee-sama is… a bit of a workaholic. She has… inhuman endurance and she actually can't stand the idea of free time."

That did _not_ make Kyouya feel any better. The twins snickered into their palms.

"Oh. Well that explains it. Anyway, back to the liking problem now…"

Tamaki rubbed his chin thoughtfully before pounding a fist into a palm, "I know what it is."

"What?" All present human beings questioned, eyebrows raised, not expecting anything good.

"It must be because of your drastic personality differences!" Tamaki shouted and stood up in a princely manner, and pointed straight to Kahoko's face. The latter blushed furiously and squeaked, "Eh?"

"The Natsu we know is a perfect tomboy – one that likes to hang around with cool guys like us! It's only natural that she wouldn't get along with a timid little girl like you – no offense. Therefore, we need to reshape you into what Natsu would like to see – a tomboy sister just like herself!"

Haruhi did not buy it as she deadpanned, "That's stupid. Since when does Natsu only hang around tomboys?"

"Remember, Haruhi, she only hangs around _us_, who are boys." Tamaki omitted the "with the exception of you" due to the presence of Kahoko.

Hunny waved Bun-Bun's ears around before concurring, "Yeah, I think that's it too, ne Takashi?"

Seeing as Hunny concurred, what Mori thinks was then obvious.

And then eventually everyone else concurred as Haruhi twisted her face to the side in disdain.

What idiots were she hanging around with?

* * *

The scene shifted back to the Third Music Room. Kahoko's eyes emitted a savagery light. A cap worn backwards, Band-Aids all over her bare arms, topped with a jean vest and a pair of baggy Capri's full of holes – yes, this was the new Kahoko – the Kahoko that was not weak, the Kahoko that would definitely appeal to Natsu.

Her eyes flashed in determination as she stepped on a skateboard that appeared out of nowhere, and, of course, slipped. A passer-by gasped and rushed towards her, uttering the ever so concerned "Are you all right?"

Kahoko lifted her head defiantly, eyes firing a proud light, "I am perfectly - "

Suddenly she squealed and hugged her knee. Then her image of a perfect tomboy was perfectly ruined as she started crying on the spot.

"CUUUUUT!" Tamaki yelled yet again, _very_ impatient by now, "Tooyama-chan, I know it's painful, but you must do this for your sister's sake! If you would like her to appreciate you, you must sacrifice some things that are not so easy to sacrifice! Therefore, put more determination into your act!"

Haruhi snorted and remarked sarcastically, "The words certainly are inspirational. The plan is certainly reasonable. But most importantly - "

She sighed hopelessly at all the members, wearing dresses and makeup and anything _but_ what normal _boys_ would wear.

"Why must we all dress up as women?"

Hunny beamed happily, "To make Kaho-chan appear more manly, of course! It's relative, ne Takashi?"

"Yeah."

"What a waste of time." Under his breath, Kyouya muttered. He certainly couldn't care less about Natsu and her sister.

"Now, now, get up, you." The twins commanded, "We'd have to practice that again."

Kahoko wiped her tears and reluctantly stood, "Y…yes…"

"So, yeah, start from the tripping part - "

A hoarse, cold, and most importantly, _murderous_ voice suddenly came from the recently opened door…

"What. Are. You. Doing. To. My. Sister."

The entire room froze and mechanically twisted their heads to the source of the voice. The voice itself was chilling enough – and when what accompanied it was Natsu's ever so famous Godzilla face, the Host Club (with the exception of Kyouya) regretted never considering the option of writing a will.

Natsu's cold eyes scanned over Kahoko's ridiculous attire and then _glaaaaared _at the club's ridiculous attire. Hunny started wailing.

"Quick, quick, perform the skit!" Tamaki ordered in distraught as he lifted his leg, exposing the undergarments of his ridiculous medieval-styled dress, "Try to appeal to your sister! Save us all! Look, look, Natsu, we're trying to change your sister to appeal to your better nature!"

"Ano, eto… Yeah, Nee-sama, so, um," Kahoko nodded and desperately reached her feet for the skateboard, only to seriously brutally trip and land indignantly on her face.

When Natsu went for the wall, clenched her fist and trembled, the club winced. Kyouya did not at all make the situation any better as he merely shrugged and breezed, "Judging by the way she's trembling, I'd say you made her _very_ angry. Of course, being my slave, she won't dare going crazy on me. Good luck, you all."

The club was barely breathing as seconds passed. And then a very loud noise _did _ensue, only it was not a scream of anger, but –

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…"

Everyone stared curiously as Natsu waved her arms hysterically, laughing like a total lunatic, tears pouring out uncontrollably as she choked on her own saliva. Her legs weakened from too much laughing as she landed indignantly on her butt. _The first butt-first landing since three years old! _The thought only made her laugh even harder, and the club could barely distinguish her from the ground since she was hugging her stomach and banging on the ground, as curled up as humanly possible.

"Man…" when that flood of laughter finally terminated, Natsu wiped her tears and sat up with an enormous grin, "I haven't seen anything as stupid as this in _years_!"

Even Kyouya blinked at this unpredicted outcome.

"Did you guys think I'm someone who _only_ likes manly people?" The girl raised an eyebrow and pointed at everybody's ridiculous dresses, "'Appeal to my better nature…' Geez, what a way to do it!" As soon as that ended she started giggling again, "Even _Mori-senpai_…"

Mori took a step back. Believe it or not, he was wearing a wig that was half of his length and the ever so typical yellow and blue Snow White attire. Imagine that.

You can visualize how red Kahoko's face was when she timidly reached a hand for Natsu's trembling structure, "N…Nee-sama, are you all right…"

"Other than running out of air, yeah," Natsu coughed as she finally managed to stop, "Kaho, I thought you had some brain, but to go along with a crippled plan like this? What a way to screw up my impression."

"Well, it's not my fault!" Kahoko retorted, face red as a tomato. Natsu winced. She never heard her stepsister yell that loud. "Every time I try to talk to Nee-sama, Nee-sama bombards me with questions about how my training is coming – maybe I don't _want_ to talk about my training! Nee-sama is always mad at me – is it because Nee-sama doesn't like me anymore? Isn't it because I'm too shy and not the type of person Nee-sama would hang out with?"

Natsu blinked. Then she sighed and scratched her head embarrassedly, searching for words to say.

"Um… first of all, I hang out with all types of people and I'm not a manly-person-lover, which explains why Hunny-senpai and I are such good friends." She pointed in a matter-of-fact manner at Hunny, refraining from laughing as she once again noted the out-of-place bonnet on the side of his head. "Second of all… I _like_ you, Kaho. In fact, I like you a lot."

Both girls blushed in embarrassment. The host club smiled. It was evident then that the two sisters have _never _spoken their feelings out to each other like this.

Natsu continued scratching her head, "You're the only person in that cursed Tooyama mansion who's ever really cared about me ever since… you know. How could I ever forget? Because of that, I'd like you to have a place in that home. You can stand that place better than I can. To be able to keep your place there, you need to get as far away from me as possible – because I'm not there anymore. They never wanted me there and they never will."

The club shivered as Natsu's eyes hardened, but then she sighed again and closed them.

"If you believe me, Kaho, all I ever wanted was for you to be as successful as you can. And for you to be successful, your mentor – I, will have to be as strict as possible. I'm sorry if I caused any wrong impressions. So… yeah, _now_ will you go home and do your homework?"

The silence seemed painfully long and awkward. That is, until Kahoko suddenly broke out laughing.

"What?" Natsu's cheeks reddened, "You've never seen a girl speak the truth before?"

"No, no…" Kahoko shook her hands in amusement, "Well, true, it is kind of weird, but that's not my point – it's just that, part of me coming was just to see how Nee-sama was doing. And," the little girl's face broke into a beautiful smile, "I guess my worry was redundant – Nee-sama looks so happy! In fact, so much happier than the last time I saw you!"

Natsu froze.

Tamaki exclaimed, "Really? I suppose that with our Host Club's heartwarming antics, we have melted a frozen soul in need of salvation?"

"No way!" The slave immediately declined, "Happy would seriously be the _last_ word I'd use to describe myself. I'm a frickin' _slave_, Kaho! I'm being driven around by that guy - " she pointed rudely towards Kyouya's nose, " – over there, _and _I have to hang around with these lunatics with one exception (Haruhi) who think of themselves as the most beautiful men ever on earth!"

Kahoko grinned wryly, slurring the words, "You may tell yourself that, Nee-sama – but, even including the old photographs – I have _never_ seen you laugh as hard as the way you just did, Nee-sama; and I mean _never_."

She strode happily towards the door, "I'll go home and do my homework now, Nee-sama; I'm glad Nee-sama is happy in Ouran!"

With that she spontaneously left, leaving Natsu rooted to the ground, lost in her own thoughts.

So was she happy? She scanned dubiously at the club members, dressed weirdly and shooting stupid words at her such as "Oh, oh, is little Natsu enlightened by our presence". She was happy? Around guys like _these_? She was _happy_? Especially around _Ootori Kyouya_?

In the end, she concluded with a scoff. _Happy? Pfft. What could Kaho possibly understand anyway._

Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki, was… let's just say, in denial.

* * *

"Nee-sama!"

Natsu nearly jumped out of her skin. She was, however, _very_ glad she didn't drop the vase she was cleaning.

"Kaho? What, what, what are you…"

Kahoko entered the room, receiving the hug from Hunny as she blushed, "I'm… here for the Host Club. I… kind of like this place. I… think it'd be a great place to hang around."

Natsu's eyes widened in horror, "Kaho! This is a _host club_, for mother's sake! A young girl like you shouldn't be here at all! Besides, that Lobelia Zuka Club – wasn't it _sufficient _for you? You'd like to worship the Zuka Club _and_ the Host Club?"

Kahoko scratched her cheek sheepishly, "I… like the Host Club better than the Zuka Club, maybe because I'm… not as much womanly as everyone else in my school."

"Oh! Take _that_, Zuka Club!" Tamaki proclaimed to the air, happy to the extent of tears, "I, as the King of the club, am so glad that I was able to lead the club out of the misery of that horrid Zuka Club!"

He was, of course, ignored by all as Natsu screamed in terror, "Kaho, it's _inappropriate!_ A _girl_ like you shouldn't be hanging around places like this!"

"You aren't setting any examples." Kahoko shrugged and stated plainly, "Besides, you seem like you're enjoying it, so I'd like to hang around a bit too!"

"KAHO, YOU (BEEP)! HOW COULD YOU TRASH MY GOOD OPINION OF YOU BY APPEARING IN SUCH AN INAPPROPRIATE PLACE?"

"AHHHH! NEE-SAMA SAID (BEEP)!"

Hunny spontaneously joined the sibling squabble, "AHHHH! Na-chan and Kaho-chan both said (beep)!"

Mori stated blankly, "Ah, Mitsukuni said (beep)."

"AHHH, Mori-senpai said (beep)!" That was, doubtlessly, the mischievous twins.

The only sane people then – we're talking Kyouya and Haruhi, could do no more than sighing and shaking their heads hopelessly.

As for Tamaki? He was on for a soliloquy. "Ah, I did not know that Natsu had such potential to become a member of this big family – look at this warm siblings' squabble! I never knew that she could look like such a child – on top of that her sister is lovely too! And…"

Let's cut the 3000 words of praising that is about to follow. This was the story of how Tooyama Natsuki, normally known as Akazawa Natsu, gained the status as a friend/younger sister? in Suoh Tamaki's mind.

* * *

**Yue: **Anyway, that was how. Meanwhile I'll get immediately on the next chapter, because I know I'd love writing it. Hope you'd love reading it! And please, leave a **review**.


	7. Of BunBun and type AB

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran, so I could torture all the characters. But sadly, I do not. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue:** This chapter is a bit short, but I _adored_ it! I'm sorry to all the romance-loving people; not much romance yet. That'll come in about two chapters or so :D. Please be patient! Meanwhile, enjoy this one. I think you'll like it. And please, leave a **review**. They never cease to make my insides wiggle like beloved fishes.

Thank you to _TheWinchesterAngel_, _shizouo_, _Bustedwitch_, _LovingMystery0927_, _Opera-Gypsy_, and _FlaviaSparrow_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 7 – Of Bun-Bun and type AB

Let's analyze this situation here in Third Music Room. The perfectly normal people here were Tamaki and Haruhi. They were just doing what they were doing like everyday else. What was different were as followed:

Natsu was not yet in the room. Mori left abruptly to take care of an unknown business. Hunny was sleeping. But most importantly – the twins, along with Kyouya, were _bored_.

Our conclusion: _totally not good_. Reason? You figure it out.

So, under this totally not good situation, the story commences with a fuming Natsu blazing through the door – "HARUHI! How could you _beat_ me again in the mid-term exams?"

She was ignored by all but Haruhi, as the latter merely shrugged, "You… made a stupid mistake?"

"You bet I did," Natsu sighed in distress, "I think I forgot to answer one of the fill in the blanks questions. O how will I live? I entered Ouran on a special status; there was no way I could pay the tuition fee on my own! But _you_ scholarship student over here just won't let up even _one_ mark!"

Kyouya shot her a glare, "What do you mean no way you could pay the tuition fee? Is your online little shop not doing well nowadays? Besides, Haruhi _is_ a scholarship student. Scholarship students are not to be underestimated by _payment duckers _like you. A thief and a slave is in no place to berate a scholarship student."

"…" O how she hated it when Kyouya was right.

"Oh, thief, you're just on time!" Kaoru waved at Natsu as she walked closer, "We're bored."

"The noes."

Hikaru scowled, "What's with that attitude, slave? We know that you've become closer to us, but you're still a slave. So, think of a way to entertain us!"

Natsu raised a dubious eyebrow as she pressed an index finger against her lower lip. "Hmm… I'm out of ideas. Today is indeed a boring day. Just live with it, guys. There are bound to be days you don't like. Like, play a skit or something."

Tamaki performed his famous "Scream" impression on the side, "No, not a skit! They'll play a fight again to fight over Haruhi's homemade lunch, which is supposed to be _mine_!"

"I made my lunch for myself," Haruhi kindly pointed out on the side, sending the poor King to his friendly corner.

The twins yawned and scanned around. Suddenly, they saw – Hunny was sleeping. Bun-Bun was in his hands. Bun-Bun was important to Hunny. Hunny is scary when he wakes up. And just beside the twins, there she was – the phantom thief. The thief who managed to steal and sell right under the noses of the entire host club. Here goes the "connect the dots" game.

So imagine how poor Natsu was to react when the twins ordered with a same evil grin on the faces, "Hey Natsu… fancy entertaining us by stealing Bun-Bun out of Hunny-senpai's hands?"

But there was a surprise this time. A "no" was made audible, but it didn't come from Natsu, it came from _Kyouya_.

Hikaru pouted, "Aww, come on, Kyouya-senpai! It'd be fun!"

Kyouya shrugged and sipped casually on his tea, "I didn't say it wouldn't be fun. I am just unhappy with how everyone seems to be sharing _my_ slave nowadays. Nobody gave you the right to slave _my_ slave around. So, no."

Natsu stayed silent – for one reason, she didn't know whether to punch him in the face or utter a word of gratitude.

But when he turned to her with a smile and spoke the words he did, Natsu was sure she wanted to punch him in the face. These evil words were:

"Now, Natsuki, as your slave owner, I _command _you to steal Bun-Bun out of Hunny-senpai's hands."

As Natsu grumpily stormed off towards the poor sleeping Hunny on the couch, Tamaki jumped out of his sulking corner and whispered mystically at Kyouya, "Oi, Kyouya, are you sure? What if Hunny-senpai _wakes up_?"

Kyouya shrugged nonchalantly, "But that's what we _want_ to see – right, Hitachiins?"

The Hitachiins nodded nonstop.

Tamaki gulped even more as Haruhi shook her head on the side, "But, Kyouya, poor sister Natsu would not know about Hunny-senpai's awfully - "

"Here." Just then a grumpy Natsu came back, scowled, made a face, and at last tossed Bun-Bun grumpily onto Kyouya's knees, "What do you want to do with it?"

The present club members' jaws dropped and stared at Natsu in disbelief.

"What?" The focus of the attention snorted in annoyance, "When it comes to stealing, I'm a professional. How else did I manage to 'almost ruin', as you all say, Kyouya-senpai's family company?"

Tamaki sighed in relief as he noticed that Hunny was still sound asleep, with Bun-Bun replaced by a bundle of pillows. "Well, as long as you didn't _wake_ Hunny-senpai."

The twins sighed as Kyouya stared blankly at Bun-Bun. "Man, that was no fun." Kaoru complained and pointed accusingly at Natsu, "You're too good a thief. To steal _Bun-Bun_ right out of _Hunny-senpai's_ hands! I see what Haruhi was trying to say when you first appeared. If you really did come here to steal in the first place, you would've bankrupted us in a day."

Natsu shrugged as she resumed her usual chores.

Silence once again surrounded the room until Hikaru clenched his head in frustration, "No! I can't _stand _this boredom! We _have_ to do something!"

"Like?" Haruhi raised her head and demanded.

The twins exchanged glances and suddenly grinned. Then they moved in sync towards each side of Haruhi, grins widening into smirks, "Like playing with our favourite toy – Fujioka Haruhi."

Tamaki bounced in fumes, "Such impertinence! How _dare_ you harass my dear daughter!"

As the three proceeded to sort that out by dragging Haruhi around, the poor girl reached out a poor hand at Natsu, "Natsu, help!"

Natsu continued dusting, "I steer clear of male hormones and insanity."

Of course, steering clear of stuff like that is clearly impossible. As the twins pushed Tamaki, he stepped back onto Kyouya's foot. Kyouya inelegantly lifted his foot, lifting Bun-Bun in the process and surprisingly making it fly. Bun-Bun made a beautiful parabola in the air and landed perfectly on Natsu's head, causing her to completely _shatter_ the vase she was cleaning. Then it bounced off again – only to land into a pot of pure soil. And why was that pot of soil there? Natsu somehow decided to plant some daffodils inside the room, thinking that it would add some cheerful colours to the room. She brought the soil in yesterday so she could plant the seeds today.

"_Five_ extra months of slavery for that vase." Kyouya sentenced plainly. Poor Natsu.

No, that was not the end of it. Let us not forget – Bun-Bun landed in a pot of _plain soil_. When Tamaki finally managed to lift it up, the entire front side of it was _covered_ by soil.

"Oh, _shoot_."

Natsu watched curiously as Tamaki, the twins and Haruhi completely freak out at the sight of the dirty Bun-Bun. And when they were not about to calm down anytime soon, she sighed and cast a questioning eye towards her slave owner.

Kyouya ignored her glance and pointed out, "Quiet down. If you wake Hunny-senpai…"

That was sufficient to make them all shut up.

"What's the fuss?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, "It's just a dirty bunny."

Tamaki wiggled his index finger in fear, "Bun-Bun is very _special_ to Hunny-senpai! And besides, Hunny-senpai is… is… _demonic_ when somebody wakes him up! If he sees that Bun-Bun was dirtied, he'll… he'll…"

"Pfft, _Hunny-senpai_? Yeah right. Pigs can fly."

"They certainly can." That was Kyouya, "Haven't we been through a flying pigs issue before?"

Even Haruhi waved her arms hysterically, "It's true, Natsu! I've _seen_ it – I've _seen_ Hunny-senpai's chilling glare! It was… it was… unspeakable horror! And, Mori-senpai is the only one who could calm him down quick enough."

The club scanned the room. Oh shoot. Mori was _not here_.

The two schemers, who are the slave owner and the slave, watched amusingly as the rest of the cast uniformly turned to look like the "Scream" painting.

"Oh come _on_, guys." When the screaming subsided, Natsu laughed it off, "It's _Hunny-senpai_ we're talking about here."

Hikaru grumbled in frustration, "Why must you be so naive like Haruhi was? Let's try what we tried on her. Listen. Hunny-senpai is blood type AB!"

"And?" Natsu the type B raised an eyebrow, "I personally don't believe such things as blood types. I mean, come on. They say blood type B is selfish and impatient. I'm not selfish and impatient!"

Kyouya snorted, "Natsuki, pigs can fly."

"Shut up."

"Oh, did my slave say 'shut up' to me? That's - "

"Forget it, I was talking to my inner self. So, you were saying?"

Kaoru frowned seriously as he uttered in a low, coarse voice, "We were saying… Hunny-senpai is blood type AB – which is the same as _Kyouya-senpai_ right there!"

There was a pause. Then Natsu began to move away from her usual slave spot beside Kyouya's chair to join the fussing four. "You convinced me."

"You guys are certainly more afraid of Hunny-senpai than you are of me. Seriously, do you think that makes _me_ feel good?" Kyouya sighed. It was the second time he had to ask that question.

But the five were obviously not listening as they were trying to figure out a way to clear themselves of the horrible crime of dirtying Bun-Bun.

"The last time we tried a replacement, it didn't work," Tamaki informed Natsu seriously, "Hunny-senpai nearly broke my poor Beary! So, this time, we'll _have_ to get Haruhi to wear the bunny suit!"

Natsu pointed out blankly, "You just want to see Haruhi in a bunny suit, don't you?"

Needless to say, the King blushed madly, "I just want to see my daughter appear perfectly girly!" On the side, Haruhi sighed.

"Well, it can't be helped." Natsu shrugged and magically brought out a bunny suit that she just _happened_ to have, "Haruhi, wear it. Maybe it'll work."

Haruhi protested as the twins gave Natsu a huge thumbs-up, "Natsu! I thought you were the sane type!"

"I'm the fun-loving type." The tomboy grinned dangerously, prompting Haruhi to think that perhaps being Kyouya's slave also made her _act_ more like Kyouya.

"Hey," Hikaru protested, "Haruhi is _our _toy. Natsu, you can't order her around like that. Besides, it was your fault that Bun-Bun was dirtied."

"What? How was it my fault?"

"Bun-Bun bounced off of your head!"

"That's a reason?" Natsu screamed furiously, "Let's see. Bun-Bun bounced off of my head because Kyouya-senpai lifted his foot. Kyouya-senpai lifted his foot because Tamaki-senpai stepped on his foot. Tamaki-senpai stepped on Kyouya-senpai's foot because – oops, the _Hitachiins_ were fighting with him over Haruhi's lunch."

Kaoru shrugged nonchalantly, "Still. You are the direct cause of Bun-Bun's misery. Usually, the direct cause is the one to blame. It isn't our fault that you're always standing somewhere behind or near Kyouya-senpai."

Natsu snorted grumpily, "Like I have a choice."

"What was that?" Kyouya's voice sounded strangely distant – and, more importantly, murderous.

"… Absolutely nothing. So yeah, blame yourselves! You started it!"

Hikaru accused, "Rather than saying we started it, how about telling the truth? The truth is – Haruhi started it."

Poor innocent Haruhi protested on the side, "What? I so did not."

"This entire thing took place because of your homemade lunch. Thus, technically, the point of origin is your lunch."

Natsu shrugged, "So Haruhi must clean this up by wearing that bunny suit."

Poor Haruhi. She was so alone. Desperately, she looked to the sole person who hasn't commented yet on the bunny suit – Tamaki. Tamaki, however… well, we all know that he just wants to see Haruhi in a bunny suit.

Thus, a commotion and utter chaos ensued. Kyouya was the only one who was able to stay out of this. Everyone else was busy dressing Haruhi up, completely ignoring the fact that they were making lots, lots, and lots of noises.

Until they heard Hunny stir on the couch.

* * *

Mori twitched in discomfort.

He had the feeling that something _bad_ was happening to his friends in the Host Club. He had the feeling that Mitsukuni was the "something bad". He had the feeling that everyone was completely freaking out. He was hundreds of meters away from the campus to tutor a student – but he had the feeling. And Morinozuka Takashi's hunches are never wrong.

As he instructed a student he glanced warily around, even though there was nothing around to be wary of. It was a very uneasy feeling, his hunches – especially when it came to Mitsukuni's bad temper when he wakes up.

Yes, Mitsukuni had been sleeping when Mori left the room to tutor this student.

Mori knew very well that he was the only one able to stop Mitsukuni from turning into an utter demon. And because of that, Mori was again reminded of how much danger the Host Club could be in right now. Mitsukuni could well have waken up.

The more Mori dwelled on it, the more unease it gave him. He couldn't just leave all his friends like that! It was his duty to stop Mitsukuni – and when Morinozuka Takashi misses out on his duty, Morinozuka Takashi feels _really_ bad.

The clock ticked away – with every second, Mori's worry doubled. At last he could not stand it anymore and dismissed the student.

Morinozuka Takashi would not leave everyone else to Mitsukuni's wraths.

Mori to the rescue! He clenched his teeth together as he sprinted frantically towards the campus.

* * *

The club was utterly frozen.

Hunny _woke up_!

He seemed normal enough. As he sat himself up he yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily – and of course, turned to the object in his hands. When he saw that it was not Bun-Bun – it started. The aura switched. A swap – a one-second swap from an angelic halo to a demonic air, and then there was a big "bang". Until then, Natsu never knew that one could make such a big noise with a mere, normal pillow.

Hunny turned sleepily towards the frozen spectators. He blinked at Haruhi – now in a bunny suit – for a few seconds before immediately going back to sulking.

"I guess that didn't work either…" Kaoru whispered, trembling as he spoke.

"Did you hide Bun-Bun? Any of you?" Tamaki hissed in worry, and when he got a negative response he felt like jumping down a cliff.

And of course, Hunny had to _see_ it.

And then he turned to the frozen spectators yet again – with a fresh, even more Godzilla-like expression than Natsu ever could manage, and hissed in the darkest voice one could ever imagine –

"**Who dirtied my Bun-Bun?**"

Before poor Natsu could react, she was grabbed by the twins and put in front of everyone else as a "shield". Then two identical fingers pointed at the poor slave's head. The message was clear – "She did it".

Hunny shot Natsu a glare that almost sent her crying into Kyouya's laps – the last thing she would ever consider doing. But she resisted the very urge. Her legs turned numb. She was incapable of moving and shuddered non-stop on the spot. The tone of her senpai when he _demanded_ at her did not make she feel any better.

"**Did **_**you**_** dirty my Bun-Bun, Akazawa Natsu-kouhai?**"

Full name? Jeez! Natsu panicked. Where was Mori-senpai when they needed him?

"C'mon, Natsu, say something! Respond!" Haruhi urged, clinging onto one side of the sofa, "Keeping silent will only make Hunny-senpai angrier."

"Um, um," Natsu stuttered. There was no choice. She could _not_ tell the truth. It wouldn't change anything. She had to make up a story.

If you imagine a machine with all the gears turning and clacking against each other – this was what Natsu's brain looked like. In this case, the machine was a bit rusted from too much shock; but the brainpower was sufficient to come up with a… rather crippled story.

_Okay, here I go – all for nothing_. Natsu took a big breath as she began her story.

* * *

Mori really did run as fast as he could. He didn't even have the time to apologize to someone he just bumped into. He needed to get to the Host Club as quickly as he could, before Mitsukuni decides to rip everything apart. Why? Because Morinozuka Takashi is the only being capable of calming down a demonic Haninozuka Mitsukuni!

The door of the Third Music Room was in sight! Mori listened and sighed in relief. No sound of crashing dishes. That was good. The door appeared closer and closer – and finally, the handle! Mori grabbed heroically onto the handle, and pulled it heroically open.

_Have no fear, all, I am here!_

"Oh, I see, so _that's_ what happened!"

Imagine Mori's surprise when he saw Hunny holding a _very dirty_ Bun-Bun with a big _grin_ on the face. Around the sofa were four relieved human beings, collapsing tiredly on the ground. Kyouya's eyebrows were raised. And Natsu – though she was smiling and playing along with her short senpai, clearly, sweat dripped down the side of her forehead.

"I bet Bun-Bun would like some cake after such a long journey, ne Na-chan?" Hunny suggested happily, pointing at Bun-Bun's dirty mouth. And then he saw Mori and waved hyperactively, "Takashi! You wouldn't believe it! Bun-Bun just went on an unbelievable journey! But I'd like some afternoon cake, so I'll tell you _all_ about it when I finish eating!"

Mori nodded in surprise and watched Natsu as she walked towards the broken vase. As she walked by Kyouya – her legs gave way and she collapsed beside his chair.

"Worn out, slave?" Kyouya shrugged and gave her a pat on the head, "However, I must say… very crippled story, but nicely done."

"Wow, a compliment." Natsu twitched her face muscles and snorted weakly, "That's… rare."

"Now get up before I decide to add an extra month of punishment. You think five months is not sufficient for today?"

The poor slave immediately jumped to her feet.

Mori walked towards Natsu, question written all over the face. The latter glanced over and chuckled, "Hello Mori-senpai. Are you wondering how Hunny-senpai is laughing again?"

Mori nodded.

"Well, here's the story…"

_Hunny-senpai, Bun-Bun is dirty because he went on a very long journey! When he was sleeping in your arms, an alien from Mars suddenly descended! We were all so scared! Bun-Bun heroically volunteered to go with them in order to… um, save _us_. You know, the aliens would've killed us if Bun-Bun didn't go. Bun-Bun went to Mars and ate lots of… er, random cake. He discovered that the aliens were actually really friendly. They played… er, ping-pong together and then the aliens sent Bun-Bun back to Earth. Although Bun-Bun had a bit of false landing on the end… he landed in the flower pot instead! That's why he's covered in soil. But Bun-Bun's told us _all_ about his journey and I think Bun-Bun loved it!_

"…And apparently he thought Bun-Bun loved it too and got all lit up like a light bulb on a Christmas tree."

Hunny beamed with a mouthful of cake, "Yeah, yeah, how could Bun-Bun _not_ love something like that? If it were me I'd be crying out in happiness!"

Natsu gave a brief thumbs-up at him and chuckled weakly, "Yeah, that was the story. It was… I don't know. He's a _real_ type AB, that Hunny-senpai… I felt like I was talking to a child! So, how did I do, Mori-senpai?"

Mori blinked in confusion. How? Based on the Mitsukuni he knows, he would never stop his train of anger with a story like this. In Mitsukuni's mind, Bun-Bun does not talk with anyone but him - so sentences such as "Bun-Bun told us all about his journey" would only make him angrier. But it didn't.

Ah well, it didn't matter. Mitsukuni did not have to get mad and everyone in the club was fine. It was all thanks to Natsu and her crippled story.

Natsu was very relieved when she saw Mori's smile.

"I think Natsu did very well – other than the making me wear the bunny suit part," Haruhi commented in a whisper, hoping Hunny would not hear her. Tamaki nodded continuously and then shook his head continuously when he heard Haruhi's comment about the bunny suit. Even the twins acknowledged it by dropping their jaws in indignity – showing their disbelief. After all, how could such stupid story actually _work_? It was stupider than any lie that Mori ever made up!

But it worked.

Mori smiled again and patted Natsu on the head.

"Good job, Natsu."

It was the first time Mori called Natsu by her first name. Of course, Natsu realized so.

Perhaps no one would really know why that stupid story worked. It was so obviously crippled. But as Hunny indulged on his cake he continuously seemed to grin at the ridiculousness, making people really wonder how many brain cells he possesses. Therefore, no one was ever to know – Haninozuka Mitsukuni cheered up this time not because he believed in the story, but because he really liked Natsu's expressions when she was telling it.

Let's save that for later.

Right now, we are to inform you that Tooyama Natsuki – normally known as Akazawa Natsu – has now officially gained the status as a friend in Morinozuka Takashi's mind.

* * *

**Yue: **XD Well? How do you like it? Please leave a **review** and tell me what you think. The next chapter will be… slightly Kyo/Na.


	8. Fuyumi

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **I liked this chapter :D. Enough said. Read on. Please leave a review!

Thanks to _Opera-Gypsy_, _TheWinchesterAngel_, and _shizouo_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 8 – Fuyumi

Kyouya was not enjoying his tea.

He didn't know when he'd started being picky about his tea. There were days where tea was just tea – nothing more, nothing less. Those days seemed far away. Nowadays, whenever he drank tea at home, he was not satisfied. It was either too strong or too weak. A new idea of "perfect tea" was born – and the only one who could make perfect tea was his very own slave – Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki.

That is, if the twins didn't "accidentally" push her when she was putting in tealeaves.

Taking another sip, Kyouya realized that he was scolding Natsu less and less, because Natsu rarely gave him the chance to berate her anymore. She seemed to be getting a hang of _every_ chore he could come up with, and she seemed to do everything perfectly unless she was disturbed by someone else.

_She really _is_ a workaholic, _Kyouya chuckled. How lucky to get such a useful slave. He certainly was benefiting a _lot_ from this.

Kyouya really did wish his slave was around at a time like this. It was the time he needed "perfect tea" the most. Perfect tea goes perfectly well with perfect spare time. He chuckled again upon realizing all the things he could skip, just because _she_ would be stupid enough to tend to them all perfectly.

Wait a second. Kyouya's smile suddenly stopped. Was he actually _wishing_ that… that… person to be _around him_ right at a moment when he gets to relax? Was he actually _thinking about a worthless slave_ at a time when he should be snoozing away?

Something was _wrong_ with him.

Sighing, Kyouya massaged his head. Maybe bad tea washed away his ability to think straight.

_Oh, look, a new email._

Kyouya blinked and reached for the mouse of his laptop. He opened the mail and scanned through it, sighing again as he reached the end of the mail.

"Nee-san bought me a set of porcelain antiques _online_?"

* * *

"Oh, my, God!"

Natsu laughed and danced in front of her computer. This was the best day of her life! She almost couldn't believe it!

Those antiques – those porcelain antiques – those antiques that she put on sale online with a ridiculously high starting price – those antiques that were _the _most expensive things she's ever attempted to sell – someone _bought_ it and offered a price nearly twice as much as her planned profit! This could sustain her lifestyle for almost a year! 10 million yen!

"Maybe I could buy off a sector of the Tooyama firm with all the money I've made from this account." Natsu grinned proudly at her account name MagicHand358. Then she clicked her mouse at the buyer's account. "…Fuyumi888? What an awfully uncreative account name. Let's see… she sent me an email to meet her and deliver the antiques in De Luxe Restaurant (1)… Heck, that's for those crazy rich people in Ouran! No wonder she could afford my stuff."

Natsu turned away from her computer and hummed cheerfully as she skipped into her bedroom to pull out the antiques from her storage closet. She ran her fingers along the beautiful patterns, lined up on the side of the largest pot.

"Heh. I'm almost reluctant to sell these." She chuckled bitterly, "They were Okaa-sama's favourite. Ah well - " she sighed and shook her head, "Items of this sort are made to be sold, not uselessly held souvenirs by sellers like me…"

She carried the antiques into an open area near the door. She decided that after she gets the money, she'd phone a couple of business partners to import some new products. Some real nice and _stupid_ business partners she had – a fake smile and a bit of money got her some great discounts. Besides, her little online company was rather well-known by various companies – not so much by big ones as the Ootori firm, but the small ones, definitely.

Oh, and she'd better get the landlady's son to give her a lift. He was a real nice fellow. He always offered her rides. This was the first time she really needed one.

Natsu resumed her cheerful humming as she walked out of her apartment to find the landlady's son.

* * *

After dealing with an awestruck landlady's son, Natsu carried the antiques into De Luxe Restaurant. Five-stars. Shiny. Luxurious. No wonder that landlady's son was so awed.

The girl scanned around for the buyer. At last, her eyes landed on a cheerful young woman seated at the most beautiful window seat there was. She waved with a giant smile, signaling Natsu to come over. And so she did – with a typical "business smile", Natsu made her way towards the young woman. As she seated herself down she could spot surprise in the young woman's eyes, "_You_ are Akazawa Natsu-san?"

"Yes." Natsu nodded politely, "And you are the account holder of 'Fuyumi888'."

"Wow!" The lady's eyes sparkled, causing Natsu to raise an eyebrow, "You don't look much older than my youngest brother!"

"I am sixteen."

"Then you're actually younger than him!" The lady exclaimed, before smiling apologetically, "Sorry, I was very rude. Nice to meet you, Akazawa Natsu-kun. You are a very attractive and energetic young boy!"

"… I am a girl."

"Oh. My!" The lady's hands flew to her mouth and she commenced chuckling continuously in embarrassment.

"It's okay," Natsu shrugged nonchalantly, "I get that a lot. Anyway, here are the porcelain antiques that you have ordered. Please look through them to ensure that this is exactly what you had expected."

"Thank you." The lady smiled and stole a glance at Natsu's face again before accepting the package. "By the way, I'm Shido Fuyumi. You can call me Fuyumi-nee-san!"

Natsu noted that this customer was definitely one of the most cheerful she's ever seen. "All right, Fuyumi-nee-san."

Fuyumi carefully examined the antiques before nodding with a grin and handing over a cheque, "10 million, payable to Akazawa Natsu. Thank you very much. I love these patterns! Where did you get such exquisite display? I would think there wouldn't be anything so exquisite on a commoners' website, but I guess I was wrong!"

_Commoners_. Why did that sound familiar? Natsu blinked and answered politely, "These were some of my mother's belongings. She… decided that she no longer needs them."

Fuyumi stared pitifully into Natsu's eyes, "My, Natsu-chan, something bad happened to your mother, didn't it?"

"… Why would you say that?"

"Your eyes give things away." The lady chuckled amusedly, "Then let's not talk about sad things. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Natsu wondered why she'd waste time with a customer. Like, heck, she was a customer. She was supposed to buy stuff and leave. Here was a customer, asking Natsu to tell her "a bit about herself". "Um, actually, I really have to get going, so…"

"Aww, come on, little girl," Fuyumi pouted, "How busy can a sixteen-year-old get? Please stay and talk with me for a bit. I'm waiting for my youngest brother to come and have dinner with me, but he won't be here until after a while. Oh, I know, you look like a commoner! Tell me more about what a commoner does!"

How nice. Natsu rolled her eyes in her head. Way to ask someone to stay by calling her a commoner. "Um… okay, a commoner gets up in the morning, brushes his teeth, washes his face…"

Fuyumi laughed. Her laughter sounded strangely pleasant.

"You're not very happy about me asking you to stay, are you?"

"Well…" Natsu stuttered and whispered sheepishly, "I _do_ have to get going…"

Fuyumi's grin widened as she continued observing Natsu's face. The observation eventually went to Natsu's plain attire. She wasn't so much of a fashion disaster today. She was just plain with a plain T-shirt and plain Capri's.

Just as Natsu decided that the silence was getting a bit awkward, Fuyumi spoke again, this time more cheerful than ever.

"Tell you what – come with me. You need some clothes renovation."

Natsu groaned, "What! _Clothes renovation?_"

The very idea appalled her.

"C'mon, Nee-san will treat you!" Fuyumi dragged Natsu away from her seat and winked, "You get to pick whatever clothes you want and Nee-san will pay for you! Nee-san will make sure you look like a perfect girl by the end of the shopping!"

"But I have to get going!"

Fuyumi wiggled her index finger slyly, "You're sixteen, I'm twenty-six. I am a good ten years older than you are, so what's wrong with respecting your Nee-san and having some fun? Come on, let's get going. I know a good place that sells Chanel and Gucci and any famous brand that a commoner might find interesting! Waiter, please put these antiques in a secure place." She waved at a nearby waiter, who obeyed instantly.

"But… but… what about your youngest brother?"

Fuyumi paused briefly before shrugging, "Oh, that workaholic probably won't come until after an hour. And if he does come early, I think it'd be great for him to wait for a while and practice his patience."

Natsu did not know what to say.

"Let's go!"

_Yadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! _As poor Natsu was dragged away from De Luxe, her mind cried in despair.

* * *

"Oh, so you came off of your originally wealthy family to try out the world on your own!" Fuyumi exclaimed in surprise at Natsu, who was then behind the curtains changing, "Wow! You are a very brave girl!"

"Thanks," Natsu's voice came from the change room, "It's… kind of an exciting game."

It was weird. Fuyumi was magical. It felt as if she was actually Natsu's Onee-sama. They had only known each other for about an hour, but Natsu was already revealing a bit about herself – with perhaps a slight twist on the truth. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for others to know that Akazawa Natsu the online shop owner was in fact Tooyama Natsuki, the eldest daughter of the Tooyama family.

As Natsu threw on the skirt Fuyumi had picked out, she wondered why. People rarely cared about her, because she liked to just work away and fade into the background, and perhaps give others a surprise when she felt like it. Natsu didn't _want_ anyone to care about her, simply because she didn't have faith in such care anymore. Fuyumi seemed to see through her disguise – it seemed as if she knew the first time she saw Natsu that Natsu was in fact craving for someone to see her for what she was.

But buying her _skirts_ was no way to show it!

Natsu sighed again as she finished with the… un-Natsu attire and walked out of the change room, "… How do I look?"

Fuyumi paused before clapping her hands happily, "Magnificent! Look at yourself in the mirror! You are now a perfectly girly-looking girl!"

Natsu turned to the mirror and raised an eyebrow. Yeah, she _did_ look like a perfectly girly-looking girl. A comfortable and elegant shirt, overlaid by a sleeveless hoodie, plus the sky-blue skirt and the perfectly white legwarmers – she… looked like an innocent young girl.

How nostalgic. She hasn't looked like an innocent young girl in ages.

"Oooh, you like it, don't you?" Fuyumi teased on the side, causing the poor Natsu to immediately decline, "Well, not quite, so I should really get it off - "

Fuyumi held up a hand to stop her, before grinning slyly and holding up a gold credit card, "I have already paid for it."

"What!" Natsu blushed in embarrassment and exclaimed, "Fuyumi-nee-san, you shouldn't have! I mean, you already did me a big favour by buying those antiques, and now this? Please, undo the purchase, I'll go change now."

"Nee-san is always the one who does favours, right?" Fuyumi dragged an evading Natsu back to where she was, "Now Nee-san orders you to stay in those clothes for at least the rest of the day."

Again, Natsu did not know what else to say. At last she managed a pathetic squeak, "Thanks."

When Fuyumi decided to buy a pair of Chanel heeled sandals to go with the cute innocent attire, Natsu blurted suddenly, "Are you this nice to everybody?"

"Eh?" Fuyumi blinked.

"You know, people normally wouldn't buy such stuff for strangers." Natsu pointed out and stated quizzically. She wanted to know whether this lady really meant buying or this or whether she was just a clueless woman.

Fuyumi chuckled embarrassedly as she shrugged, "No, eh? I guess I just feel like it. You… kind of remind me of my youngest brother."

"You know, you keep mentioning a _youngest_ brother. How many brothers do you have?" Playing absentmindedly with the edge of her skirt, Natsu asked as she sat down on a nearby bench to take a break.

Fuyumi followed and laughed, "Three. They were really a pain when they were young."

They giggled like typical girly best friends. They knew how annoying brothers (in Natsu's case, _step_brothers) can get.

"My first two brothers were… smart. Typical good students. Top of their classes. They weren't really anything special though," Fuyumi stated, a rare hint of melancholy setting in her eyes. "Because they were both so outstanding, my youngest brother has some… extreme pressure on him. He has to strive and outshine them both in order to have a shot at our family company. It was never easy. Every time I went to visit, he'd be working, acting all serious and old. It's not that being serious is a bad thing, but - "

Fuyumi sighed.

" – He's only seventeen. Seventeen-year-olds don't normally get pressures like that. He might act all serious, but he's still a relatively young boy. I see his shadow in you."

Natsu blinked. Did she always give an "old" and "serious" impression to other people?

Fuyumi saw her doubt and grinned, "By saying 'I see his shadow in you', I don't mean that you're exactly like him. In fact, you're rather an amateur compared to him. I could tell that you're a fun-loving girl on a first glance – it was obvious that you're just closing yourself in this shell."

Natsu scratched her head and sighed, "So _deep_."

Fuyumi smiled and continued her story, "My youngest brother – he's always loaded with work. It seems as if it's the only thing he'd ever think about. And the thing was, he was always alone. There was rarely anyone there to help him, or even utter a word of kindness to all that he's done. Our father is very strict. It must be very hard for him. I mean… he's still a boy. He should try relaxing and having fun."

Natsu stole a glance at the strangely serious Fuyumi, before she leaned back and sighed,

"I think I understand how he feels."

"Hm?" Fuyumi turned her head to stare at the girl, now staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering more to herself than to anyone else.

"You're in an insecure spot. You're working because you're afraid. You're working because you know that if you don't work, something relatively inferior will come from behind your back and swallow you. You work so much that sometimes you forget about the idea of being free – because you know that work is the only thing that you are capable of. You comfort yourself by thinking that all the work will one day pay off – and thus you will prompt yourself to work more."

Natsu sighed.

"That's how _I _function. I don't want to sound too judgmental, but… this might be what he's thinking too."

Fuyumi's eyes turned back to some dirt on the floor, "You're probably right."

"But you know, recently it's been getting better for me," Natsu remarked again, this time smiling, "Because I got the chance to get away from whatever was bothering me and have some… really random but fun events happening to me."

There was no doubt there that she meant the Host Club.

"I sympathize with your brother, Fuyumi-nee-san. If I ever get to meet him one day, I'd try my best to help – because even though I'm struggling with my own workaholic problems, I'd think that I could at least _try_ to see things from other people's perspectives and hopefully help them out."

Fuyumi noted that she really liked this girl's smiles.

"All right, no more depressing talks! Now Natsu-chan, won't you be so nice as to show me around for some commoners' stuff?"

"…Sure, what do you want to look at?"

"Well, I've always thought Ramen was something that's interesting…"

Natsu sighed. She realized why Fuyumi sounded so familiar.

Her obsession with commoners' stuff was exactly like _Tamaki_.

* * *

"Well, thank you for showing me around today!" Fuyumi smiled cheerfully as the two march back into De Luxe, "My brother should be here by now. I had fun."

Natsu found it unbelievable for such words to come out of her mouths, "I had fun too. But thank _you_ for these… err, great clothes!"

"You're still not that fond of them, are you?"

"Weeeeeell… I don't normally wear stuff like this…"

Fuyumi chuckled and patted the girl on the head, "You'll learn to like it."

"Now if you _ladies_ here are finished with a heartwarming farewell, I would _really _like my dinner, because I am _rather_ hungry."

The two ladies blinked, startled as they looked towards the origin of the sound. The first thought that Natsu had upon seeing this face was: _OMGWTFBBQ?_

"_Kyouya-senpai?_" The words of doom escaped her mouth before she had the chance to stop them.

"Well, well, Natsuki," Kyouya sighed, "Just as I thought. What other site would risk selling such exquisite china online?"

Fuyumi blinked from a sighing Kyouya to a blue Natsu, "… You two know each other?"

"Hell yes." Natsu muttered under her breath.

"Oh my!" Fuyumi's hands flew to her mouth, her smile turning into a smirk, "Kyouya, why didn't you tell me you had such a cute lady friend?"

"Cute?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow and turned his eyes back to Natsu. "Oh."

Natsu was seriously disturbed as Kyouya scanned her over, a… disturbing teasing glint dancing in the eyes.

"My, my, Natsuki, so you _do_ have the ability to look like a female human being after all. Nee-san, did you buy this?"

"The pleasure is mine."

"Ah. As I expected. Only my nee-san will be able to make art out of such an… ambiguous, let's say, being." Kyouya's smirk widened as he scanned over Natsu one more time – from head to toes.

"Wait," Natsu shook off her disturbance and questioned in serious shock, "Fuyumi-nee-san, the _youngest brother_ that you're talking about can't seriously be - "

Fuyumi was seriously enjoying this. "My, my, of course, Natsu-chan! One would think Kyouya and I look quite alike, no?"

Natsu paused. _Now _it made sense. This is why she should've actually paid attention instead of faking greetings at old dinner business parties! The last time she went to a party, her father was talking to the head of the Ootori family – about how the eldest daughter of the Ootori family married into the Shido family! And heck, she knew Ootori Fuyumi. She'd even spoken to her – when she was still a fake girly girl she then was.

She wanted to dig a hole and just bury herself. Suffering double evil smirks! O how would she live?

"Oh, yeah," Fuyumi proceeded to make the situation even worse, "Natsu-chan, you said something about sympathizing with my brother and willing to try your best to help him?"

_Nooooo! Don't bring _that_ up!_ This is when Natsu wished she had a knife with her. It comes in handy for suicide. The extent of that wish increased when she had to endure a very dangerous grin from the Shadow King, "Oh? Is that true, Natsuki?"

Like she could say no. Then she'd seriously hurt Fuyumi. Clearing her throat, Natsu proceeded to attempt changing the topic, "Um, I think I'll get going now because I have a lot of work to do - "

"Aww, come on. Have dinner with us." Fuyumi intercepted, still wearing an ever so disturbing grin, "You must be hungry. You don't mind, do you, Kyouya?"

Kyouya shrugged, "If she's dressed up as a decent female human being, I guess I won't mind."

_Noooooo! Why in God's name would he not mind?_ Natsu's mind screamed in terror. "Sorry, I can't. I have a lot to do - "

"No you don't," Kyouya pointed out with a creepy grin, "Class 1-A went into the weekend with no homework except for a few pages of English reading. I didn't assign you any tasks. The only shopping deal you had to deal with today was the deal with Nee-san, which you have already completed – meaning, you have no work now. And if you go home, you'll have _free time_."

Eek! Free time! Natsu cringed. This meant that she'd have to sit on the hard bench (because she didn't want to waste money buying a couch) and watch _TV_ (which, for the money she paid, would play nothing but sappy romance soap opera) until her poor butt gets sore and stiff!

"So which one is worse – _free time_ or dining with us?" Kyouya finished off with an inquiry. Natsu wondered why he was so interested in keeping her here.

Natsu sighed. She'd have to pick the free time.

Let us remember, it _is_ a workaholic we're talking about here.

* * *

As if things weren't bad enough.

Why must Fuyumi _ask _Kyouya to walk Natsu to a bus-stop while _she herself_ sits in De Luxe and finish the rest of her dessert? And why must she grin like so when the two grumpily set off?

Neither Kyouya nor Natsu were happy about this.

Kyouya was thinking, why must he commit such indignity as _walking _like some kind of _guard_ instead of _being guarded_ as always?

Natsu was thinking, why must she commit such indignity as _being guarded_ instead of _walking alone _as always?

Note how they weren't exactly thinking "why must they actually spend time with_ each other_". Because of the owner-slave relationship, Natsu had no choice but to place herself somewhere within Kyouya's demonic reach, so that he could bombard her with work whenever possible. This has continued for so long that they really didn't mind being around each other anymore.

But of course, sarcastic remarks and vicious firing exchange of words were inevitable.

Seeing as the slave does not have the right to start a conversation (that was rule number 1), Kyouya opened his mouth first to comment, "Well, well, had fun ripping my sister off?"

The slave attempted an instant counterattack, "It isn't my fault if your sister is such an enthusiastic, carefree, and _kind _person."

"Are you implying that your owner over here is unkind?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I give that impression?"

Surprisingly, Kyouya let go of this particular fight with a shrug – only to start another one, "I would think you are a rather stubborn girl. Have you given up your lifelong belief of tomboy appearance today? Perhaps I'll adjust that opinion of mine."

Natsu scowled in annoyance. "Just because I don't like skirts doesn't mean I won't ever wear them. Besides, what's not to wear? I didn't pay for it."

"My, my, how straightforward."

"I learn things from my owner."

"I feel honoured." Kyouya shrugged sarcastically, "It isn't all that bad to have a slave that actually _volunteers_ to try to help me to the greatest extent."

Natsu regretted so much of ever saying she wanted to "help" this guy to Fuyumi.

"Come on now, don't hang your head like you regretted so much of saying such thing." Kyouya chuckled slightly, prompting Natsu to wonder whether mind readers really exist or not.

But as we could all see – it was not an ordinary day. Not for Natsu, not for Kyouya. The bus stop was in sight, and Kyouya uttered and did something that surprised both Natsu and himself.

"As far as your owner is concerned – the owner, to a certain extent, appreciates the help of this slave – and would quite like this slave to continue helping him."

Did he just utter some words of _gratitude_? Natsu lifted her head in surprise, only to have the head pressed down again by the Shadow King's playfully ruffling hand.

"Now get to your so-called commoners' 'bus-stop' thing before I decide to assign you work."

The slave rolled her eyes, sighed, and decided to march on. That was no gratitude. That must've been sarcasm. It must've been. Perhaps it was her brain being delusional.

Akazawa Natsu had no idea how _wrong_ she was, for one thing, Kyouya was thinking as he watched her march away –

_Now why did I do that?_

Something was _wrong_ with Ootori Kyouya and he couldn't yet figure out what it was.

Meanwhile, Shido Fuyumi decided in De Luxe while sipping on coffee that she really _liked_ this girl Akazawa Natsu.

Oh no.

* * *

**Yue: **XD Now that was fun. A "date" will ensue in the next chapter – however, I'm not going to tell you which pairing it'll be :D. Try guessing! There aren't that many options XD. Please leave a **review**.


	9. Of sickness and realization

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **Sorry to disappoint you all. **This is **_**not**_** the date chapter**, because as I sat in front of the computer, I realize that I was in no mood to write about a date. Therefore, I started writing the chapter that I originally planned to come **after** the date. But it doesn't really matter which comes first, because it works either way. This chapter is… err, **not as cheerful** as the other ones, but it does have **loads of Kyo/Na** in it :D! So please enjoy!

Thanks to _Opera-Gypsy_, _shizouo_, _TheWinchesterAngel_, _Melissax3_ (you'll like this one!), _BumbleBeexDanni Lea_, and _SS-lover06_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 9 – Of sickness and realization

Akazawa Natsu hummed cheerfully as she went for the door.

These were nice days. An Ouran school festival is coming up soon and she was occupied with some work to set up a detective agency. It was the class task of 1-A. It was strangely fun coming up with "catch the thief" games and such – and ironic too, because Natsu _was_ a thief.

Kyouya wasn't assigning her any ridiculous tasks either. That did not mean he did not assign her any _tasks_… in fact, he went crazy on her. He literally _threw_ a whole bunch of paperwork at her face. But none of them were ridiculous, and she had actually enjoyed putting some of the random events together. They were all things she wouldn't mind doing, things that she'd willingly throw herself at to help somebody out. They saved her from _free time_. All the more reason for her to be happy enough to actually be _early _for Host Club.

She reached for the door handle, but paused as she heard Kyouya's talking voice.

Hmm. Who could he be talking to?

A slave had no right to spy on her owner – but Natsu was no ordinary slave. She snickered as she pulled a puny gap and leaned her ear on the door to listen.

When she heard – she wasn't sure if it was a good idea anymore.

* * *

Kyouya shut off his cellphone and leaned back on his chair tiredly. He felt guilty.

Why should he feel guilty? He rightfully bought off a sector of the Tooyama firm – simply because the Tooyama firm offered it at such an appealing price. This was no time to consider the feelings of his favourite slave. He shouldn't care if that sector was Natsu's mother's sector or whatever. He was just doing his job as the third son of the Ootori family. He was just managing what he was supposed to be managing. The sector was _his _now. He had the right to do whatever he wanted with it.

Still. A little part of him regretted not saying a word to Natsu about this. It was a long negotiation, this one – he had plenty of opportunities. Perhaps Natsu had the right to know of it. But… she said so. She wasn't part of the Tooyama firm anymore. And she couldn't care less about that company. She would be fine with it, wouldn't she?

Kyouya blinked airily and sighed. No, there was no point in trying to come up with an excuse. He _hoped_ Natsu would be fine with it. He did not know whether Natsu would actually be fine with it. He did not know his own slave.

Wait. Really, what was even the point of considering her _feelings_? He was doing his job. He was benefitting. _Feelings _of other people don't matter when profit can be gained! What was _wrong_ with him?

The Shadow King shook his head and sighed again as he mumbled to himself consolingly, "You bought it. It's final – you did it. You bought off a useful sector from the Tooyama firm. It doesn't matter whether it belonged to Akazawa Shuuko or not. You gained profit."

He turned himself lazily towards the door – and froze as he found himself face to face with Akazawa Natsu.

Kyouya has never, ever before seen Natsu wear a face like that. Written on her face were spite, scorn, and anger disproportionally scrunched together, making that face almost unbearable to look at – but it was what was in the _eyes_ that really struck Kyouya.

Natsu was _hurt_.

No matter how beefy she tried to look, it was just so obvious. Her eyes were too watery. It just wasn't her.

Kyouya's mind simply blanked out upon gazing into those eyes. He'd rather see scorn and vengeance and spite and sarcasm like he always did – but not hurt! He'd never meant to hurt her. He was just doing his job!

He just didn't know what to do anymore. The only thing echoing in his mind then was –

_Crap. I've done it now._

Behind her came a humming Hunny and a… normal Mori, the former skipping to Natsu's side and pulling cheerfully on the edge of her uniform, "Na-chan, you okay?"

"Leave me alone." Instead of a warm greeting, Hunny found himself receiving a cold and hard command. He blinked in confusion and looked up at Natsu's face. Then, he, too, froze upon seeing the girl's eyes.

It just wasn't her.

"I… I'm sorry," Realizing what she said, Natsu stuttered and took a step back. Her mind was, as well, blank as a fresh sheet. She was void of things to say and to do. For the first time in years, she allowed her voice to crack like a child's –

"I'm sorry! Just… _leave me alone_!"

The girl sprang out of control as she pulled herself away from the door of the Third Music Room and sprinted as far away as she could down the closest flight of stairs she could find. "Na-chan!" Hunny called desperately from the room, but, heck, that girl was fast when she needed to get away from them.

Hunny sighed in concern and confusion as he turned back to the room, noticing the presence of Kyouya. Suspiciously, the loli shota inquired, a rare hint of seriousness in his voice,

"Kyo-chan… _what did you do_?"

Kyouya paused to search for an answer. When one came out, it was a bitter one –

"I just forgot. I… forgot something that I very much regret forgetting."

He should've told her about it.

* * *

Natsu didn't remember for how long she ran. She knew that when she stopped, she was tired. Her chest hurt. A lot. Almost too much for her to take.

It was… weird. She'd forgotten when she'd started trusting Ootori Kyouya. She'd forgotten when she'd started to cease to repel his presence. She'd forgotten so many little things. She'd done so many things that an old her would never have done. In short – she let her guard down. She was fazed – she couldn't believe that she was actually fazed – by Tamaki-senpai's family talk.

Was this the price for letting her guard down? She collapsed onto the soft grass and gasped desperately for air. Her chest hurt so much. She was an idiot. She knew this would happen! She just… didn't expect it to be sold so soon. A part of her wished she could at least have _that sector_. It was one of the few things that mother has left her with.

He stole it. He stole it from her, and called _her_ a thief. He stole it when she was least prepared for it.

She knew she was supposed to feel indifferent. Heck, she _knew_ this would happen! She knew that one day that cursed Ootori Kyouya would make a move against her – because she knew that cursed Ootori Kyouya despised her to every nerve!

So why did it hurt so much? Why couldn't she just be indifferent?

Fuyumi was right. She was such an amateur when it came to concealing her true feelings. She was cold. She was confused. She curled up on the grass and held her arms as tightly as possible to keep warm. It hurt so much, and she couldn't understand why.

She thought she would be able to handle this, when this day finally comes.

She couldn't. Not at all.

She overestimated herself.

She missed mother's warm smile, warm hugs and damp kisses on the cheeks.

She was alone.

She bit her bottom lip as she hugged herself tighter and cried.

* * *

"Natsu's not here." Haruhi scanned around the classroom worriedly and sighed, "It's her third day absent. Anyone knows if she's okay?"

The Hitachiin brothers shook their heads in unison. "Look, if you don't know how she is, why would we know? You're her best friend, aren't you?"

Haruhi sighed again, "She would never answer the phone or the _door_, for that matter. I have absolutely no clue what happened. Do you know what happened?"

Hikaru remarked, "Something to do with Kyouya-senpai, I think. He won't tell. Not surprising, because with all that work he's giving her – I think it's about _time_ she topples over her crap limit."

"Well, we need her," Kaoru complained, "She's in charge of three crime scenarios. They're supposed to be done by tomorrow."

"Don't say that, Kaoru," Haruhi pointed out, "She could be really sick. I think we should go visit her after Host Club today or something. Maybe she's having trouble taking care of herself."

Hikaru nodded, "But that'll be after Host Club anyway. So let's go to Host Club. I think it's time."

The trio argued about a probable reason for Natsu's absence and made their noisy way to the door of the Third Music Room. When their ears picked up Tamaki's seldom serious exclaim, the noise died away. Judging by the tone of his voice – this was no time to make fun of anything.

"Kyouya, I can't believe you! How could you _do_ that to her? Don't you think you've been cruel enough by bombarding her with chores every possible minute?"

Kyouya's voice sounded frighteningly indifferent, "She is a slave. A smart one, nonetheless. She knew this was coming. If she can't handle this, it's not my fault."

"But Kyo-chan, don't you realize that whatever you bought was what she's working crazily for?"

"Like I said, she knew it was coming. She works in _hope_ of acquiring what she works for. She knows that in reality, this is not all that possible to accomplish."

The twins looked at each other. Even Hunny sounded serious. Perhaps this wasn't as… fun as they imagined it to be.

"Bought?" Haruhi whispered in doubt and pondered over the matter carefully, before exclaiming knowingly, "No! I get it! He bought it! He bought that sector! No wonder Natsu… This is_ bad_."

Then the twins knew. Their jaws dropped as they looked at each other in dread.

"This is not the time she _topples over_ her crap limit. This is the time where she's already fallen to the bottom of an abyss with fifty feet of crap _dumped on top_ of her!"

The three lost no time to barge in with opened mouths ready to speak out their minds. Kyouya, however, did not give them the chance to start speaking as he simply typed on his laptop with an annoyed scowl on his face, remarking impatiently, "Great, now _you_ know. Should I cancel the club activities today? You guys won't be done arguing with me anytime soon."

Tamaki shouted in anger, "Is profit _all_ you think about, Kyouya? If so, let me tell you this. The fact that Natsu helps you at all is a profit to you. How much stress did she take off from you simply by being around and being ready for whatever you bombard her with? Have you ever thought about what _she _feels like and how much stress _she_ is under, for a so-called profit of yours? Let me put it your way. If she collapses or starts to hate you and refuse to help you, you'd lose a slave – in your words, you'd lose a big _chunk_ of profit. Is that _easier for you to understand_, Kyouya?"

Kyouya tried to ignore him. It didn't work. For a second he felt like his heart was being bitten by a massive crowd of ants. Then he decided to simply shut his mind down and focus on his laptop. Ignoring his peers' accusing stares, he typed in the address of his family website – only to find that, this time, instead of being bitten, his heart was completely _carried away_ by that same crowd of strange ants.

Somebody had bought off the sector that he had just bought with a ridiculously high price. Somebody had given the full control of it to him, on the condition that whenever he/she wanted it back, he must obey. Somebody had left a sole initial as the identity – somebody with the initials "A.N." had bought off that sector and put full control under _him_, just to shove it in his face.

Akazawa Natsu.

Kyouya's eyes widened, his heart skipping wildly as he searched frantically for the price she offered. When he found it, his heart completely sank.

1 trillion. 1 trillion yen (1).

A good ninety percent of Natsu's complete personal assets.

Who would spend so much money on _one sector_?

Hunny noticed the sudden change of expressions on Kyouya's face as he questioned, more alert than ever, "Kyo-chan, something wrong?"

The entire club was very startled as Kyouya, suddenly losing his cool demeanor, shot up from his seat and exclaimed worriedly at the screen of his laptop, "_Idiot!_"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Are you accusing us?"

"Shut up." The king backed off as Kyouya shot him a chilling glare. "Club activities are cancelled for the day. I need to find Natsuki. _Now_."

"Not necessary. I am here."

The club members turned their heads towards the door. The said Natsuki entered with a pile of paperwork in her hands, eyes cold and emotionless, cheeks flushed for whatever strange reason. She treaded slowly towards a desk and laid down her paperwork, separating them into different piles.

"Haruhi, the crime scenarios." She handed a pile to Haruhi, the latter startled as she slowly accepted it, "Along with a room layout design for construction, which I believe starts tomorrow." The slave then turned and addressed to the entire club, "New cosplay costumes will arrive next Monday. They will be delivered to your mansions. I will handle Haruhi's and give it to her. _Kyouya-senpai_," She scooped up the other piles and walked towards the desk he was occupying, literally _throwing_ the piles down with disdain,

"Verified blueprints of the school."

Whack.

"Outline of the Grand Salon race, rough copy attached for reference."

Whack.

"A list of different foods to order for the dinner party."

Whack.

"Verified outline of all invited guests."

Whack.

"Confirmed orders of decorative materials."

Whack.

"Modified budget for the minimum spending estimated to be required."

Whack.

"Is that _all_ you request of me to complete? Or shall I be expecting more sometime soon? I suspect that you'd have me to confirm the orders of the foods as well?" As she cleared herself of paperwork, Natsu questioned, voice, like always, filled with spiteful scorn – but her eyes said otherwise. She was more tired than anyone and anything.

The club members' jaws dropped inelegantly as they simply stared blankly at the piles and piles of paperwork.

For the first time in years, Kyouya found himself unable to reply. All this he had assigned, _and_ she'd bought that sector. Did she have a limit or did she not? When he finally managed to speak, he was then wondering whether he was himself, for instead of returning her sarcasm he screamed in anger, "What sort of an idiot are you?"

Natsu winced and raised an eyebrow. So did the entire club. Now _that's _something they didn't expect coming from Kyouya. Nonetheless, it didn't stop Natsu from retorting like always, "Well I'm sorry. One would think you'd like to see all your work finished up by someone else."

Kyouya shook his head, annoyed, "The work I assigned you is nothing to you. The work _you _assigned _yourself_ is what makes you a grand, clear idiot!"

Natsu suddenly found the patterns on the carpet below her exquisitely interesting.

"What?" Hunny mumbled in confusion as he inched himself towards Kyouya's laptop. When he saw too, he gasped and went crying to Mori. "WAAAAH, silly Na-chan is trying to kill herself!"

Pretty soon everyone was gathered around the laptop except for Kyouya and Natsu. The effect was, the jaws were then literally on the ground.

"Why would you do this to yourself, Natsu?" Haruhi mumbled sadly.

Kyouya clenched his fists, glaring angrily at his slave, for the first time feeling like dousing cold water on her, "I thought you'd know. I thought you're smarter than that. You knew this would happen, didn't you? If you knew, why can't you just be indifferent like you always were – or, like you always _pretended_ you were?"

_Good question,_ Natsu remarked to herself, but there was no way she'd say that.

"Perhaps I should've told you." The Shadow King continued, and not a bit of shadow in his image was left then – he was plain angry and was, surprisingly, ranting. "But you knew I had no choice. It's my job! You think it's easy being the _third_ son of the company? I have to obey everything my father tells me to do and do it perfectly, in order to have a shot at inheriting the estate – do you think I have _room_ to consider how _you_ feel? Do you think it's so easy to manage so many things myself? Do you think I _like_ hurting my peers' feelings?"

Tamaki sighed tiredly. Then he was startled when Natsu, too, raised her head and snapped – seriously angry this time.

What did Tooyama Kahoko say? "Nee-sama does not actually get angry unless her work load or a certain human being is driving her absolutely crazy." The twins were right – this time she was absolutely driven crazy by _both_.

"What makes you think you have the right to say that to _me_?" She screamed, glaring defiantly into Kyouya's glasses. "You always expect me to help you, when, truthfully, I could barely take care of most of my _own_ affairs! You always expect me to know and understand everything, just because I am brainy enough for all the _stupid_ tasks you assign me! Do you know how lucky you are? You have a chance to fight. You fight for a shot at your family company. I _fight_ for a _chance to fight_, can't you see that? If I don't buy it off now, I'd never have a chance at it. That sector is the _only_ sector that I could possibly ever lay hands on – I won't allow anyone to steal it from me!"

"Oh, so you're accusing your owner to be a thief now?" Kyouya fired back fiercely, "I bought it because it was a very profitable deal. You bought it and, let's face it, gained virtually no profit. Wake up and get into the real world, Tooyama Natsuki! Impulse is no way to solve anything – and when morals and profit are put on the same balance, frankly, morals is always the one that goes out the window!"

Haruhi shuddered. She's heard that. She's heard that from Natsu once before.

"I don't care about how much profit I gain!" Natsu yelled frantically at her owner's face, suddenly contradicting the belief that she pretended to hold firm of, "There is something I want, I go for it. That's how _I _get by. Profit is nice, real helpful, something I try hard to grasp when I have free time – but if that something I want so badly can only be gained by the sacrifice of profit – I'd do it. I'd do anything to get what I want, even if I have to be broke and live on the streets or whatever. As long as I know that that thing is safe and in my grasp whenever I need it, I'd get by - "

She took a step back, her voice cracking again as she began to feel a lump of tears form at her throat. The last portion of her sentence was delivered through a sound that wouldn't be audible if the rest of the club was not so quiet as they were then –

"And… frankly… that sector is the only thing I'd ever wanted so badly in my entire life."

Kyouya froze. He did not know how to reply to that.

He lost. He lost this argument. It was the first time he'd ever lost to his slave in a conversation.

The awkward silence seemed to go on forever until Natsu finally regained her original composure.

"I suspect guests would arrive soon." She uttered tiredly, simply worn out from all that yelling. "Please get changed, and please leave me alone – at least for today."

The slave treaded lazily towards the change-room curtains. Hunny clutched tightly onto Bun-Bun as he stared worriedly after her, Mori closely standing by. Haruhi sighed. Even the twins were silent. As soon as Natsu disappeared out of sight, Tamaki shot a glare at Kyouya, "You understand what I mean now?"

Kyouya made no effort to answer. He simply stared at the carpet as if he'd never seen anything so exquisite in his life.

All was silent again – until a suspicious massive crash came from behind the curtains. Hunny yelped and immediately made his way towards the origin of the noise. A louder yelp ensued as he found the cause of the noise, followed by a concerned scream, "NA-CHAN!"

At that everyone yelped too and followed Hunny's tracks. Imagine the horror when they found Natsu lying unconsciously beside a vase stand, which she apparently made fall over. Hunny placed a hand on her forehead only to retreat it as soon as his fingertip touched the surface, "Eeks! Na-chan is so sick!"

No wonder her face was so flushed.

Without warning Kyouya rushed towards the new patient and scooped her up in haste. Then, as quickly as humanly possible, he began to make his way out of the door of the Third Music Room towards the Infirmary. It wasn't until nearly a minute after this super speedy exit that Tamaki realized that was going on.

"Quick, everyone to the Infirmary, now!"

* * *

"She's going to be all right." When Kyouya finally exited the patient room and announced, the club let out a sigh of relief. "She overworked herself and got a fever. Nothing big, though. Should be fine with some days of rest."

Haruhi questioned dubiously, "Is she going to stay at the school overnight?"

"No," Kyouya shook his head, "I'll stay with her. If she wakes up tonight, I'll transfer her to our nearest hospital branch. If she doesn't… well, I'll get an ambulance."

Tamaki sighed again, tiredly this time, "You know, sometimes I think you guys are both idiots."

"… What makes you think _you_, the biggest idiot, have the right to say that to me?"

That successfully sent Tamaki to his ever so friendly sulking corner.

"Anyway," ignoring the sulking being, Kyouya remarked, "It's getting pretty late. You should go home. I'll try my best to take care of her."

"Oh you would, wouldn't you?" The twins suddenly grinned dangerously, making Kyouya take a step back, "… Should I know what this grin is about?"

"Nah, it's okay."

Hunny played absentmindedly with one of Bun-Bun's ears, "Well, I have to go now, but can I come and see Na-chan in the morning tomorrow?"

"Sure," Kyouya shrugged, "When I actually get her to settle in one of the hospital rooms, I'll tell you the location."

"Okay." Hunny nodded cheerfully, "I hope she gets well soon."

"Don't we all?" Haruhi smiled and remarked, and this time Kyouya did not object.

And thus went the rest of the Host Club. Kyouya watched them leave and then turned to position himself on a chair right next to the canopy bed Natsu was lying on. He stared perplexedly into her flushed face, hoping that he wouldn't have to wait too long.

He had something to say to her. In private.

* * *

Natsu awoke with a dry throat and sore joints, along with an eerie feeling that her brain has turned to viscous liquid and was flowing all over in her head.

"What…" she uttered weakly and pushed herself up, but a strong pair of hands pressed her back onto the comfortable pillow and the overly soft bed.

She saw a figure sitting beside her and, doubtlessly, watching her. She blinked her eyes rapidly; they were so blurry. When she finally managed to see clearly again, she saw it was Kyouya – and once again she attempted to sit up, only to fall back weakly this time. She had zero strength. On top of that, the bed was too comfortable.

"You're awake, finally." Kyouya sighed hopelessly and pointed out the window, "See how dark it is?"

Natsu turned to look out the window. Yep, it was dark. Too dark.

"Where am I?" She asked confusedly, and was scared by how scratchy her voice sounded. Man, that cold she had contracted really escalated, didn't it?

"The Ouran Infirmary I." Kyouya answered, "You've been out for a while."

Natsu blinked incredulously at her slave owner, "And you've been here with me?"

"You look like you've seen an actual black hole with your very own eyes," Kyouya scowled, annoyed, "Am I not right that, to buy off the sector and complete the tasks I gave you, you locked yourself in your apartment and worked for three days straight with awfully little sleep?"

Natsu made no effort to answer. One, it was true. Two, she didn't want to talk much about it.

"If I am the cause of this, I find it reasonable to waste a bit of time with you."

At that Natsu scowled. _Gee, couldn't he at least make this sound a bit nicer?_ "You never change, do you, Kyouya-senpai?"

The silence was almost frightening. The usual tension seemed to be building up again, even under a supposedly "tender" situation like this. At last, Kyouya was the one to let up with a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry."

_EEKS!_ Hearing that, Natsu literally sprang up from the bed and staaaaared at her owner's face. Her ears must not be working!

"Stop scratching your ear!" Kyouya scowled again and protested, "And if you have the energy to spring up like that, I suspect you're not as sick as you look?"

Natsu pushed herself so that she could lean against the comfortable pillow and sit up at the same time, "I may need a while to recuperate a bit, then I'll go home. I'm… not really that sick. Please leave, Kyouya-senpai. I'll be fine." Such a lie that was! Her head felt like being hammered by a thousand hammers, especially when she sprang up like that.

Kyouya carefully inspected her face. And then, to Natsu's surprise, he chuckled.

"You're such a bad liar."

_I am?_ Natsu screamed inwardly. She had always considered herself a good liar.

The Shadow King seemed to see through her question as he chuckled once more, "Good enough to deceive ordinary people, perhaps. But you need a bit of work if you want to get by _me_."

Natsu rolled her eyes. She didn't know what else to do.

"So let's continue. I said, I'm sorry."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and listened.

"I was… rather self-centered and ignorant. I should have at least asked you about it and considered even a bit of your feelings." Kyouya carefully averted Natsu's astonished gaze and remarked, "However, _you_ also have faults for being too stubborn and impulsive."

Natsu's temper flared.

"Don't go angry on me," Kyouya pointed out accurately, "You know it's true. You have other opportunities to gain that sector. You did not at all have to buy it now. For example, if you put on a mask and pretend to be friendly to me and appeal to my better nature, perhaps after I inherit my company, I'd remember you and give that sector to you."

Natsu snorted, "Yes, a real slave I'd be then. I'd certainly do well following my mother's tracks – getting lost in slavery."

It was perhaps a _bit_ awkward comparing herself to her mother – whose real problem was, really, love at first sight, not slavery. Kyouya seemed to realize that too. Immediately he steered the conversation away from the embarrassing ordeal and pointed out, "But now you've bought the sector and lost ninety percent of your assets. On top of that, you put it under my supervision. Therefore, you spent a whole bunch of money only to give that sector back to me."

"But I so did not!" the poor slave snapped back in irritation, "The contract says, I would get it back whenever I wanted it."

Kyouya smirked, and this smirk was a real dangerous one, "But how'd you know I'd give it back? What if you cannot recover from your current apparent poverty and have no… _power_ to get it back from me?"

Natsu burst without thinking, "Because I trust - "

She paused drastically and averted Kyouya's amused stare, turning to look at where her toes were instead.

"So, if you _trust_ me as you were going to say," The Shadow King proceeded to embarrass her even more in his ever so oily voice, "Why couldn't you have waited a bit more for me to inherit the company and give it to you?"

Natsu was seriously speechless this time. At last she managed to mumble at the Shadow King's amused face, "I hate you."

Kyouya watched Natsu's face gradually tense from being stared at too much, and then at last he laughed, "You are such a wonderful idiot, Natsuki."

Natsu opened her mouth to snap, but as her eyes met Kyouya's she saw that he meant no harm. In fact, he looked like he was having fun. This made her slip grumpily back into the sheets and cover her entire head with the pillow. _It smells like citrus fruit,_ she randomly noted, attempting to take the embarrassment off of herself.

"Oh? So you refuse to continue conversing with me then? Shall I withdraw my decision to free you as a slave?"

_What!_ Without thinking of the possibility that this could be a hoax, Natsu's head reemerged from the pillow, staring dubiously back into the Shadow King's amused eyes.

"Aww, no worries, it's not a joke." Kyouya chuckled again, giving her a little pat on the head, "I have seriously decided to free you as a slave."

The girl blinked in surprise, and slowly sat up again, eyes full of question, wondering what in the name of the universe made him want to do that.

"But you still have to be my personal assistant."

_Oh_. Natsu slipped back into the sheets again. "I see. Basically, there is no difference – except that now I've got a better-sounding title."

Kyouya laughed, "Oh, believe me, there are loads of differences."

Yeah right. Natsu rolled her eyes in disdain.

She did not, however, realize that she's gained another friend – perhaps a bit more than a friend, actually. It would take her just a bit longer to realize that. Because, for all we know, our Tooyama Natsuki is a wonderful idiot.

On the contrary, however, we all know that our Ootori Kyouya is _never_ an idiot.

What are we trying to say? You figure it out.

"So how long are you going to continue sleeping there?" After some more silence, Kyouya inquired, "We _are_ still in the school, mind you."

"Oh, right," Natsu groaned and reluctantly pulled away the covers, "I should probably go home now…"

As if on cue, a cough attack hit her and made her tumble back to where she was.

Kyouya had never been so amused in his entire life.

"You're not going home, Natsuki. You're coming to my hospital."

"What! No! I'll be fine! You're gonna make me pay my fee with a truck-full of random orders, I can _feel_ it! No! I refuse! Hey – I said I refuse! Stop it! GAAAH, put me down!"

"Just because you're not a slave anymore doesn't mean you can defy my orders."

"Yes I can. I refuse to come to your hospital. I know what medicine I should take. I'm the daughter of a medicine trade firm CEO, for God's sake! I'll be _fine_!"

"You refuse then? Then I shall order you to - "

"Um, never mind, I take that back… but you can at least put me down! I can walk on my own!"

By then they had already… err, travelled down a flight of stairs. Kyouya paused briefly and shot a meaningful glance at the slave – oops, sorry, _assistant_ in his arms –

"Natsuki… once in a while, try leaning on someone else. It'll feel a lot better than always walking by yourself."

Natsu froze.

"_Natsuki, once in a while, try leaning on someone else. It's bad to always walk alone, sweetheart."_

Mother.

Before she knew it, she clutched tightly onto Kyouya's uniform and, once again, cried.

Kyouya gave a small sigh as he resumed walking, "You are such an idiot, Natsuki."

How many times has he said that to her today?

The hallways of Ouran High School were so quiet. And Ootori Kyouya seemed to like it that way.

* * *

(1): 1 trillion yen is around 10 billion USD; Microsoft offered to take over Yahoo for a final price of 47 billion (I think) USD. If you think it's overboard, please tell me.

* * *

**Yue: **:D What did you think of it? I personally adored writing this chapter. The late date shall ensue next chapter. Please leave a **review**!


	10. Jelly

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **Here is the date chapter! Not much of a formal date, but I think it's fun. It's Hunny/Na XD! Sorry, Kyo/Na hopers; but you already got an overdose of that in the last chapter, no :D? I know, I'm evil. And I like it that way. Please leave a **review**!

Thanks to _TheWinchesterAngel_, _tuxie13_, _Opera-Gypsy_, _BumbleBeexDanni Lea_, _SoundzofSilence_, _Miaka N._, and _Rae-No-Yami_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 10 – Jelly. Wait, it's a date?

Haninozuka Mitsukuni was a spoiled child.

Well technically, he was not even a child anymore. He was eighteen, for Pete's sake! But he couldn't help it if his birthday was on the twenty-ninth of February! It wasn't his fault if he only grew once every four years! He couldn't help it if he was short, or liked his Bun-Bun, or loved the taste of the ever so great strawberry cake!

Hunny was used to being spoiled. It was an aspect of life that he enjoyed. There is a cake around. Hunny ate it. So why should Hunny feel special whenever he was indulging on Natsu's daily cake truffle?

Only Hunny knew that Hunny felt special when Hunny ate Natsu's cake truffles, since… well, Hunny was Hunny. Therefore, only Hunny knew why Hunny felt special when Hunny ate Natsu's cake truffles.

Hunny was starting to like Natsu. A _lot_.

It wasn't spontaneous or anything. The unspeakable gratitude for Natsu sacrificing two months of freedom for his cake truffle was sure to escalate, especially if she'd always happily play alongside him, almost providing him with anything he wanted. And that was just the case. Haninozuka Mitsukuni was _very_ spoiled by Akazawa Natsu and enjoying it _very_ much that way.

Hunny bit on a fork. He wanted to spend some time with Natsu and continue to enjoy being spoiled. But she's always so busy being driven around by Kyouya! It was nearly impossible to catch her free whenever she was "serving her sentence" in the Host Club. Heck, it was almost impossible to catch her free in the _school_! Besides, besides – she seemed to have started act _naturally_ as if being around Ootori Kyouya _did not matter_! And then Ootori Kyouya had _freed_ her! Even an _idiot_ could see what's going on here – minus the _grand_ idiot Natsu (and maybe Tamaki and Haruhi) of course. Hunny's fingers trembled. He'd have to "swoop in" before that stupid girl realizes… you know what. And it was Kyouya that he'd be dealing with. This won't be an easy mission. But, provided that he'd acquire some time to spend with Natsu, it was worth a try.

Hunny has decided. He'd "swoop in" before it's too late. The first move will have to be on a weekend. But Natsu won't accept his request for spending time without a good reason!

Ah, how he craved for jelly.

Hey, jelly!

Weekend, Natsu, jelly.

And his tears!

Hunny found himself grinning strangely evilly. He found his excuse/weapon to ask his friend out on a… date of sorts.

At least Hunny would think it'd be a date. He knew that it'd be a different case for Natsu. When it came to sensitivity to human feelings, this girl was as dense and stupid as one could possibly ever imagine.

So there was no need for her to know.

Hunny nodded to himself. This would be his personal mission for the week!

* * *

"Jelly?" Natsu's jaw dropped in surprise as a beaming Hunny nodded repeatedly.

"Shh, not so loud! Others will hear!" Then he warned, waving one of Bun-Bun's ears in the process.

Natsu massaged the side of her head dubiously, "But Hunny-senpai, you can always get jelly on your own, no? Is there a need for me to come with you? On top of that you're _not_ bringing Mori-senpai?"

Hunny nodded cheerfully, "Of course! I wanna supervise Na-chan to learn a new recipe and maybe she'll decide to bring jelly to me one day instead of a cake truffle!"

An inner Natsu sighed. _I see_.

"Okay, I'll come."

She didn't mind. She sort of enjoyed making desserts. Learning a new recipe may not be that bad of an idea after all. It was a good pastime, and not nearly as brutal as cooking actual food – did we mention that for the first week of Natsu's stay in her apartment, her garbage bin was four-fifth filled with band-Aids? And did we mention that even after a year, that astonishing fraction has only reduced to one-third?

Aside from that reason, there was also no way she'd say no to Hunny-senpai. He'd probably start crying on her – a thing he'd often do whenever Natsu said "no" to him, which was once in a blue moon, tops.

_She'll come? Really? No tears necessary? _Even Hunny was surprised. That was certainly easier than he thought.

Perhaps Natsu was changing.

"… But what's the point of keeping this a secret from everybody else?" the girl then questioned, an eyebrow raised in confusion, "I mean, it's just… jelly. Eating jelly. Senpai, you're making it sound like some sort of top-secret mission in the middle of the Cold War among all the crazy espionage."

_But I was right about this girl being stupidly insensitive. _Hunny noted to himself and grinned, "Because I want to. Especially from Kyo-chan!"

"… But _why_? On top of that, why _Kyouya-senpai_?" Oh poor, clueless little girl.

Hunny pouted childishly, "I wanna! It's fun! So let's keep it a secret, ne Na-chan?"

Natsu stared confusedly at her senpai, but gave way as always as she sighed, "… Fine, if you must."

* * *

Jelly.

Natsu stared, again confusedly, into the wobbling substance before her eyes. It was just… weird. In her sixteen years of human lifespan, she'd never been asked by someone else to come out and do nothing but eat. One, nobody paid much attention to her, especially not boys. Two, sitting and eating with someone else simply, to her, had _no_ point at all and is just a waste of time.

Thus, the reason that she was sitting with Hunny and _just eating_ was seriously beyond her. And why was _she_ the one paying? Just because she had earned a _bit_ of her money back didn't mean that she'd have to treat others for it! She was not _that_ rich yet!

She scooped up a piece of jelly and delivered it into her mouth. Hmm. Cherry. She liked cherries. But the flavour was so obviously artificial. At times she just couldn't understand Hunny-senpai and his fetish for artificial flavours like thus. She cast her dubious eyes towards Hunny, who, like always, grinned airily as he chewed away at each bite. Strange how he could beam like that while eating.

Ah well. The outing wasn't all that absurd. She learned how to make jelly through blackmailing… er, no, let's just say _inquiring_ the shop owner to teach her. Hunny certainly had fun watching. Natsu sighed. She realized that whenever the Host Club was void of things to do, they'd make her play the bad guy – a thief, a blackmailer, a fashion disaster… where had all her dignity gone?

Thinking about her trashed dignity made her mad. And when she was mad, she ate. Surprisingly, the plate of jelly in front of her was gone in no time – she actually finished before Hunny did!

Of course, Hunny's sharp eyes did not miss out on that as his jaw inelegantly dropped, "Er, something on your mind, Na-chan?"

"Dignity," the slave – oops, sorry, _assistant_ snorted grumpily, "Just musing over my long-lost dignity."

"Na-chan doesn't need any dignity!" Hunny pointed out ruthlessly, "Na-chan is our club clown, ne? Clowns need no dignity!"

Yeah, way to make her feel better.

"By the way, why jelly?" Immediately, she steered the conversation away from her dignity, "It's so… common." Man, she's never going to use that again. It felt weird.

Hunny beamed cheerfully, "I like common stuff. Na-chan should know that by now, ne? Oh, and how did you do with the new recipe? Think you can make it from scratch now?"

Natsu stared blankly at her empty dish, "I suppose so."

"Great! Can I come to Na-chan's house?"

_What! Now that was _very_ random_. "Hey! Where did that come from? And it's an _apartment_, not a house, if you haven't noticed…"

"Na-chan can't make jelly _here_, can she? Besides, she's already used up sooooo much of that shop guy's ingredients. The shop guy won't let her try again, would he?"

Natsu freaked, "My apartment is currently in a dreadful _mess_. You're gonna laugh at me the moment you step in! And then by the next minute, Mori-senpai would know; by the next minute, Kyouya-senpai would know; by the next minute, the twins would know. The last two probably won't know until Monday, but that's not the point – the point is, my apartment at the moment is hideous and you will hate it."

Hunny maintained his beam as his fingers twiddled with Bun-Bun's ears, "We agreed to keep everything a _secret_, remember? I won't tell. If I tell, I'll be giving our secret away!"

The girl raised her eyebrows and squinted dubiously at Hunny's grin, "… Promise?"

"Yep."

"… _Pinky_ promise?" No, she did not feel secure with his "just one word of promise". Spending time with the Host Club has long taught her that _promises _from the Host Club - even the most seemingly harmless member of the Host Club - may not be trusted.

Hunny could seriously laugh as he held out a pinky and hooked it with Natsu's. "Pinky promise."

And so there they went. The main target has now been changed to poor Natsu's very own apartment.

* * *

Kyouya adjusted his seating uncomfortably in his limo.

He was _sure_ that that couple which he just saw consisted of Hunny and Natsu. His trademark Bun-Bun and her trademark ridiculous sunglasses. He couldn't have been mistaken. And he didn't like what he was seeing.

Well, mayyyybe he was just being a _little_ overprotective. They were just walking. But, seeing Natsu hang out with some other guy _without advanced knowledge_ just really, _really_ irked him.

Was this, like, a date or something? How was it that nobody had informed him of such an outing on a nice weekend like this? On top of that, why were they striding towards Natsu's apartment? And why was he himself _driving _near Natsu's apartment, for that matter?

Despite now knowing what's been possessing him to perform unusual tasks, Kyouya still felt as if something was terribly _wrong_ with him. Heck, it wasn't his fault if he'd never fallen in love before! Some of the girls he casts eyes on daily (hint, hint: Renge) are just plain amoebas. How'd you expect him to fall in love with people like that? Finally, he'd found someone who was more than a single-cellular organism and seemed to fit quite well with his own personality. It was not _that_ unusual for neural chemistry to spark, is it?

Thus, since this was his first time, it felt weird and illogical. It was the first time that he himself had ever felt like an amoeba.

Still. Jealousy beats logic. Man, and he thought he didn't have to deal with any rivals on _this one_! Kyouya noted that he had underestimated Natsu's (zero) feminine charms. He was sure that nobody else would even notice her. But alas! Here she was – going on a _date_ with Hunny-senpai, of all humans! This meant that Kyouya's options were limited to "nothing excessive", because he'd still like to keep the Host Club in one piece.

It would have to be done the _soft_ way.

Kyouya smirked as he decided.

_All right, Hunny-senpai. You wanted to keep this a secret. I will foil it._

* * *

Let's leave Kyouya to his schemes and games. It wasn't to interrupt our "dating" pair – at least not directly. Anyway. Natsu stared perplexedly at the door of her apartment. It was perhaps the first time that she was so reluctant to open that door. She _so_ regretted not cleaning things up just a bit after that depressing ordeal, even though she knew that she was perfectly justified - the ordeal was simply too traumatizing.

"Okay." She breathed, "Ready for the _doom_?"

"More than you think!"

This is when Natsu tells herself that she really _doesn't_ like Hunny's beams. And believe us, that doesn't happen often, if at all.

She shakily pushed the door open. Hunny peered eagerly and curiously as the door squealed. And when he saw, his jaw dropped.

All was silent.

Until Natsu decided that it was getting just way too awkward, "Um, Hunny-senpai, you're taking it a _bit_ too hard, just to let you know. Just because wrapping paper is lying all over the ground, just because there is no couch, just because the TV is so old fashioned – just because of all these bizarre things, you don't have to drop your jaw like that."

Hunny raised an eyebrow and stared into the poor girl's face.

"Okay, fine, it's very messed up." Natsu sighed dejectedly, "But at least I managed to keep all my clothing in closets, unlike on the ground as you see in movies, where characters like me will actually cover the ground with clothes. And it's not littered with fungi-grown remains of food. That only happens when I'm in a depression – which doesn't happen that often. So be happy."

Hunny tiptoed his way through the junk of wrapping papers, at last managing to make a sound of sorts, "… eek, what's all this paper?"

"Wrapping paper for my sales items." Natsu pointed out, "So… what type of jelly d'you want? I must have been very wise in getting the ingredients before today. I have strawberries, apples, and nectarines."

"Anything is fine."

"… You don't mean anything, do you?"

"Anything."

"Okay, anything." He said it. _Anything_.

* * *

Natsu was too busy getting the jelly together to notice Hunny slipping away to inspect her room – in other words, invade her privacy. By the time she realized that he was gone, he was already deep in her room with a dropped jaw at her massive collections of… wait for it… _sunglasses_!

When the poor assistant realized the whereabouts of her senpai, she could die.

"Hunny-senpai!" Natsu wiped her hands and tugged disapprovingly on his sleeves, "I didn't give you the permission to wander around! And _my room_! Didn't I tell you not to go in?"

He'd seen her collection of sunglasses! I mean, who collects sunglasses? _She does_! And she really, _really_ doesn't like being considered a weirdo. It was not like that had ever succeeded or anything, but if Hunny started blabbing about her sunglasses collection in Host Club, she might as well jump off a cliff. She has already had too much of an overdose of being laughed at.

Of course, she was even more appalled as Hunny spontaneously started rolling on the floor with tears of laughter, waving Bun-Bun hysterically in the air.

And poor Natsu thought that she might be able to preserve her dignity for at least _one_ day.

"HAHAHA…" Hunny pointed a shaking finger towards the wall, covered with sunglasses, "Is… this… haha… what you do for spare time, Na-chan?"

Natsu reddened in embarrassment and proceeded to hide it by taking a random pair off of the wall, "Well, I like it. It's fun – sort of. I mean… yeah. You know, sunglasses with skulls on them… kinda cool, don't you think? It's just like collecting stamps. Nothing unusual. Absolutely nothing."

Obviously, Hunny didn't believe her. The massive grin proved so. "So your favourite is the pair with the flames lenses, ne?"

"Yeah," Natsu avoided his eyes and sighed, "They're cool. Tell you what, you want a pair? I must have a couple hundreds on this wall and I wouldn't mind giving away one pair."

"OOOOH, really?" Hunny blinked rapidly, retaining the massive grin, "Do you have a bunny pair?"

Natsu turned to the wall and scanned dubiously, "Hmm… I'm sure I do… but I don't see it on the wall. Where could it be?"

"… Could it be the pair in your _hands_?"

"… Oh. Right." Sometimes Natsu _did_ wish she could be less stupid. She sighed again and handed the pair over to Hunny. The latter hyperactively shoved it on. "WOW! This is so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah, now you have to promise me to keep this a secret!"

Hunny pouted, "Another secret? That's an awful lot of secret requests from you, Na-chan!"

Natsu freaked, "Look, everyone's going to laugh at me! Just please leave me with _some_ degree of dignity."

His grin wasn't making her feel any better, "Fine. How's the jelly coming?"

Silence.

"NYA, THE JELLY!"

* * *

Natsu winced as she tasted her… um, let's say, masterpiece.

This is no jelly.

This is _water_.

The price to pay for leaving that stupid tap on while she went to catch a roaming Hunny! This thing she was eating tasted like anything _but_ jelly. On top of that, because Hunny said she could make it _any_ flavour, she mischievously put _cheese_ in; but now all the cheese flavour was gone!

So much for a practical joke.

"Aww, you put too much water?" Hunny sighed and gave the poor assistant a pat on the head, "But I'll still eat it, so don't worry!"

"I advise you not to try," Natsu sighed, "It tastes like water. With maybe a bit of cheese left."

"Cheese?" Hunny raised an eyebrow, "Were you planning on making _cheese_ jelly?"

"Um, yes. You said you'll eat anything. _Blue cheese_ too. I needed to get rid of them. You can't blame me if the supermarket doesn't label their cheese clearly."

There was a long, long pause. And then, to Natsu's dismay, Hunny was laughing again.

So much for a practical joke _and_ a try to preserve her dignity.

"Fine, if Na-chan wanted to choke me with cheese jelly," Hunny wiped his tears of laughter away and split the water-like substance into two dishes, "Na-chan will choke with me together! We'll share this, right?"

Natsu made a face, but soon gave way as she sighed. She never stood much of a chance against this weird senpai of hers.

"Fine."

As for the "jelly"… seriously, the two had never tasted anything so ridiculous in their entire lives, and the two had never laughed so hard while eating in their entire lives.

* * *

The poor assistant didn't know what was waiting for her as she contacted her hand with the doorknob of the Third Music Room.

"Sorry I'm late - "

"You went on a _date_ with Hunny-senpai?"

Natsu took three large steps back as she found herself staring at two identical grinning creepy faces, more startled than ever, "Huh?"

"We said," Hikaru repeated impatiently, "You went on a _date_ with Hunny-senpai on Sunday?" Behind the twins was a distraught Hunny, waving "no" desperately at her while Mori struggled to cover his mouth to prevent any words from coming out.

Natsu tilted her head dubiously and looked from a shining Tamaki to a smirking Kyouya, "… Eh? Date? What date?"

Kaoru nudged the poor girl evilly, "You went to a _restaurant_ with Hunny-senpai on Sunday, no? And then he went to your _apartment_, no? And then you gave him a pair of sunglasses, no?"

"… Um… yeah?"

_Nooooooo!_ Hunny's mind screamed. All that effort to keep everything a secret! The poor loli shota stared accusingly at Kyouya, who pretended that he saw nothing.

Haruhi grinned on the side, "Then it was a date, Natsu. Congratulations! That must have been your first date!"

"Oh, so nice to see a little sister growing up and such…" Tamaki echoed, ever so idiotic with his ever so usual family fantasies.

"… Huh?" Natsu was more confused than ever. The room was silent as the club decided to give the dense girl a chance to realize it herself. This proved to work as the girl finally bounced knowingly, "OH! That was a _date_?"

Hunny withered on the side. Great. Now she _knew_! It simply wasn't Hunny's day.

"How come you didn't tell me, Hunny-senpai? Well, I really should've known something when we did nothing but _eat in a restaurant_. Gee, so _that's_ why! You know, you should've just asked! It's not like I would've refused or anything…"

The club sighed as Natsu uttered that without looking even a bit abnormal. It seemed as if going on a date was something perfectly suitable for everyday life – to her at least. She didn't seem to understand what a simple date could represent. Which was exactly why Hunny asked her in such fashion. But now it was all ruined!

Poor Hunny. So much for just trying to "swoop in"! He must have let his guard down _somewhere_ for someone to have seen them. Who could it possibly have been? He simply turned grumpily, went to the closest cake tray he could find and delivered a forkful into his mouth, refusing to talk more.

After unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Hunny, Natsu sighed and turned the club, "Well, obviously, I didn't tell you this, and neither did Hunny-senpai. So how did you all know?"

The club members' eyes uniformly landed on Kyouya.

"What are you looking at me for? I didn't do anything other than letting leak of information like I always did. Nothing unusual." Kyouya's smirk looked frighteningly dangerous. "Now, Natsuki, you wouldn't mind cleaning up that mess of plants over there a bit, would you? The branches are becoming rather long and hindering my train of thoughts whenever I look at them."

Natsu rolled her eyes and proceeded to perform her task. Just then, Kyouya caught a glance coming from the sulking Hunny. He returned that glance with a grin. The eye contact lasted no more than two seconds, but it was crystal clear that a war of sorts had been declared during such a puny interval of time –

_It's on._

Our dear little Natsu, still oblivious of her surroundings, continued pruning her plants, randomly humming Vivaldi's "Concerto in G minor for Two Celli".

* * *

**Yue: **:D MUAHAHAHA! Yes, it's on! But of course, I'd have to leave you hanging in there because I'm evil and I like it that way. Folks, you ready for some Tama/Haru?  
Please leave a **review**!


	11. Forest adventures!

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Ouran so I could actually torture everyone in a manga. Sadly, I do not have the right to do so. Natsu, however, is mine.

**Yue: **XD I got lots of reviews for the previous chapter! Thank you all very much :D!  
Now this chapter is mostly Tama/Haru, with a whole bunch of other insanity going on, as always. I know, this doesn't look like a serious story so far, but serious plots will set in later. As much as I enjoy writing nonsense, I understand that a story with plain nonsense is not worth reading. Anyway, enjoy this, and kindly leave a **review**.

Thanks to _shizouo_, _red-jello04_, _Melissax3_, _Opera-Gypsy_, _BumbleBeexDanni Lea_, _Freyja-the Fallen Angel-_, _kamiam714_, _FreakyD45663_, _hitorijinsei3_, _SoundzofSilence_, and _Joyce_ for reviewing! I'm sorry I couldn't respond to all of you; I was really busy with my exams.

* * *

Luxury 11 – Forest adventures!

"…And please, may I ask, _why_ are we planning to conduct such an act of stupidity?" Natsu's bored voice ran as dryly as ever in the air, while the owner of such an unamused voice raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Come _on_, Natsu," Kaoru nudged her ribs playfully, "Going to a forest and exploring the wild is _not_ some act of stupidity."

Natsu snorted and stated plainly, "Here's what I know about that forest. It has many different tracks that eventually meet on the mountaintop. Each track is _thin_ – able to contain two people on the same horizontal line at the most. Given that it is the _Host Club_ that's going, there'd probably be a fuss over the sharing of the GPS equipments; and then a fight over who's travelling with who – primarily between you twins and Tamaki-senpai; after that, there will be intra-group bickering, most likely over who's eating what for lunch; and after we all get to the mountaintop, there'd be group complaints about how terrible the picnic food was – and the food would most likely be prepared by me. So you can't blame me for seeing it as an act of stupidity."

"Not too shabby, Natsuki," Kyouya concurred with a smirk on the side, "You are blending in really well with our regular routine."

He got a flat response, "I learn things from my employer."

Hikaru shook his head in disapproval, "You two are so uptight! Aren't you excited at all about going into a forest? Eh? Eh?"

"No." The pair denied in unison as Natsu finished off the explanation, "Nothing is exciting for one who knows what is coming."

"How would you know what's coming?" Kaoru snorted and disagreed, "Just mayyyybe someone would get into some kind of an accident – I mean, duh, accidents happen!"

Kyouya shrugged, "All the more reason to not go. There'd be funding problems if an accident does happen – you are sure to know that, right?"

Natsu nodded and took over casually, "Funding is the primary importance of such an extravagant club. Wasting money on bandages and hospital fees is definitely not my idea of managing my spending."

The twins sighed, defeated, "You're impossible, guys. You know what, how about we agree to let Haruhi decide on this?"

"Wha?" The poor said girl blinked, clueless, "Did I hear my name?"

"Yes," Ignoring a crying Tamaki on the side, the twins proceeded to position their fingers on each side of Haruhi's chin, the same dangerous grin on the identical faces.

"Haruhi, you, as our most treasured mascot of the club, shall decide on the happening of such a wondrous trip. We emphasize the word 'wondrous'. We are sure that the demon lords wouldn't mind if _you_ said you'd want to go."

Natsu rolled her eyes. So she's degraded to a demon lord now? But no, she wouldn't have minded if Haruhi really wanted to go; if Haruhi really wanted to go, then she probably wouldn't have the power to stop anything. She exchanged a glance with Kyouya. Apparently he thought the same thing.

So the demon lords prayed that Haruhi would say no.

"Hmm…" Haruhi blinked rapidly as she pondered over the matter – and at last the words of _doom_ escaped her mouth, "I don't think I would mind… some mountain climbing might be good for my health."

Kyouya and Natsu sighed in unison. The twins raised two big, fat thumbs and stuck out their tongues, "Demon lords – totally defeated."

"Fine," Natsu scooped up a closest notebook and sighed again, "Forest it is on Saturday."

* * *

Hunny grinned, "Drawing to determine our travel partner? Sounds exciting!"

"Not only that," Kyouya remarked, "This shall be a _race_. The last ones to get to the mountaintop will… receive _my_ special punishment."

Hikaru snorted, "What if _you_ get there last?"

Kyouya retained a demon smile, "That's unlikely."

Haruhi shuddered. Beaming with self confidence, that's what!

So then a draw took place. The first one to express disappointment was poor Hunny, "Eh? I'm not with Takashi nor Na-chan? That's too bad. I have a yellow slip – it's Hika-chan who has the other yellow one, ne?"

"Yeah," Hikaru sighed, "I was hoping I'd get at least Haruhi, if not Kaoru. But I guess Hunny-senpai's not that bad."

Natsu blinked at the twins and pointed at the one holding the yellow slip, "If _you're _Hikaru, then I'm with Kaoru, no? We both have an orange slip."

Kaoru shrugged, "I suppose. Oh well. You're not bad."

"Glad to hear."

The four cast their eyes to the third blue team – Mori and Kyouya, dropping their jaws on the way and proceeding to protest in fierce unison, "HEY! That's so unfair! That's a _stacked_ team! No way we'd get there before _you_ do!"

"See?" Kyouya smirked, "I _said_ it'd be unlikely for me to lose."

"… Did you rig the draw, Kyouya-senpai?" Natsu squinted at her employer as the other gasped. Only such a naïve girl would dare suggest such a thing to the Low-Blood-Pressure Demon Lord.

Kyouya chuckled, reminding all of a surprisingly intelligent crocodile, "Now why would I do that, eh? If I were to rig the race, I wouldn't rig it so that our last pair turns out to be the pair standing over there right now, no?"

All was silent as the humans turned their attentions to the last purple team – just as Tamaki yelped in delight and jumped to hug Haruhi, "My, my, I'm with my dear daughter Haruhi!" The latter sighed in defeat and spat out a sole word, "Troublesome."

"He didn't rig the draw." Agreed the twins as they charged for Tamaki, battling meaninglessly for a last shot at being the partner of poor Haruhi. Natsu snorted. _He rigged the draw_. Reason one: we have found our last place. Reason two: Kyouya only needed a dress and a crimson flower atop his head to look like a perfect matchmaker. Ah well. As long as she wasn't the one he rigged for to lose, she was happy enough. She didn't care much for the relationship development of those two over there. "We're starting the race soon, right?"

"In about thirty seconds." Kyouya affirmed, making all others scream and fall immediately to their starting point, forgetting all about the partner dispute.

A random gunshot, after exactly thirty seconds, came from God-knows-where. The teams, none wanting to lose and experience Kyouya's wraths, ran towards their obscurity.

But let's not care about others. Let our cameras zoom in on the purple team taking the first path – our very dear Tamaki and Haruhi.

* * *

"Tamaki-senpai…"

Haruhi shook her head hopelessly.

"Wouldn't you stop clinging to my shoulder? For God's sake, we have just _entered_ the forest!"

"I know," the poor King trembled and peeked over the shoulder he was clinging onto, "But it's so scary already! We can't hear anything, which is weird! And it's so strangely dark! It's bright daylight, but, but, it feels like dusk!"

"… Maybe because trees are all around us, senpai?"

Tamaki whimpered and peeked nervously at the trees, "When I was young, I used to have dendrophobia – a phobia for trees. I thought all the holes in them are little eyes, and I thought it was weird for something to have so many eyes." He paused, and sighed solemnly. He sounded so serious that even Haruhi began to pay attention.

"Each time my mother left me alone in the dusk to play for a little while, I'd feel so alone and scared, and I'd feel like all the trees were watching me. I'd begin to feel insecure and scared that they'd all eat me. It was just… very lonely."

"Tamaki-senpai…" Haruhi began, but did not know how to go on – especially when she heard this…

"So, such a terrible experience has left a scar in my poor, poor young heart; and each time I see a whole bunch of trees I just can't help but cling to my dear daughter's shoulder!" The King, losing all his dignity, squealed and clung even tighter onto poor Haruhi's arm.

_Why must I get stuck with such an idiot?_ Haruhi rolled her eyes on the side and responded in a bored voice, "Let's just go."

The poor pair barely proceeded five steps before Tamaki let out a horrified scream, sounding exactly like one of those many ghosts in "The Grudge". Haruhi was more scared by that than by anything else and protested with a scowl, "What it is _now_, Tamaki-senpai?"

"B-B-B-B-Bones!" The King stuttered, pointing a shaking finger ahead. Haruhi looked towards that direction and shrugged, "Oh, that." She proceeded to pick it up, making Tamaki scream some more, "Hmm, interesting. It looks like the skull of a moose-like creature."

The poor girl had to plug ears as another one of those screams ensued, "M-M-M-MOOSE? There are meese around here?"

"Meese? You mean moose. Anyway, probably. If you look carefully at the bones - " The girl innocently held out the skull at Tamaki's face, making him back off three large steps, "Er, that's q-q-q-quite all right, I don't want to know. Let's just get out of here as soon as possible!"

With the hope of getting out there as soon as possible, the duo _attempted_ to proceed in full speed, only to be constantly stopped by obstacles popping out of nowhere. Some examples would be a boinging worm coming from the soil, the artificial howl of a wolf, a fishing net coming out of nowhere that took ages to get out of, and even a life-sized skeleton. By the time the two reached a clearing halfway through their path, they were exhausted. The only words Tamaki could utter then was, "Damn you Kyouya."

Obviously, a _natural _forest would not have life-sized skeletons popping out of a random bush. Not only did Kyouya rig the draw, he planned out – in other words, screwed up the entire race!

Haruhi sighed tiredly, "Forget it, I think we should eat." She held out the bundle in her hand, "I'm surprised I didn't drop the food they gave, after all this trauma we've been through."

They sat down on the clearing. Haruhi opened the bundle and smiled, "This must be Natsu's cooking. I see her trademark salmon sushi. Kyouya-senpai probably made her do all the food. I certainly do feel sorry for her."

Tamaki grabbed a sushi and stuffed it in his mouth, "It's not too bad. It also must've been Kyouya's doing for her to not have put ootoro in there."

At the mention of her favourite food, Haruhi gulped.

The two indulged crazily on this then seemingly heavenly lunch, as they were seriously hungry from all those scares. They had no time to wonder how weird it was for nothing to have bothered them during their time to eat. They finished their lunch in no time. Now filled with energy, Tamaki sighed and threatened, looking towards the mountaintop, "I'm gonna skin Kyouya once I get there."

Uh oh.

As if on cue, right in the middle of the lunch clothe shot out a massive "ghost", blood all over the faces, tongue inhumanly twisted towards the right, all the yellow teeth showing, even with some drools over the side of the mouth, staring eerily into Tamaki's eyes. This _completely_ freaked him out (of course) as he screamed in agony, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, and grabbed Haruhi's arm to flee. Such a scary sight made him lose his sense of direction, and before Haruhi could warn him he stepped over an empty space with his left foot. Sadly, all his weight was then on the left foot. He fell inevitably, dragging the weak Haruhi down with him. We simply couldn't expect Haruhi to save the day. She simply didn't have the strength to pull a near-grown man back up in a situation like this.

Thus, the poor duo fell down a steep slope and rolled like you would see in a normal, corny action movie, arriving at _another_ edge and landing in – sadly, a ditch. And let us tell you, it wasn't a very elegant landing. But hey, look on the bright side – they didn't die. In fact, they were very much alive.

After some groaning and mental swearing, Haruhi decided that it was time to speak,

"Uhh, can you get off of me, Tamaki-senpai?"

Of course, Tamaki's behind hurt too much from all that rolling to realize that he was sprawled over Haruhi in the most awkward position one could come up with. At that, he completely forgot his pained behind and sprang up as if he was manga-ly electrocuted, "Hahaha, sorry."

The pair brought themselves to sit up and massaged their pounding head, "So… where are we?"

Haruhi scanned around, Tamaki followed. At last, they sighed in unison. The exit was above them, about exactly one Tamaki's height away. While marveling how they were unhurt – except for one of Haruhi's feet feeling a bit icky – they had to face it.

They were trapped in a ditch. And it didn't look like they could get out anytime soon.

* * *

Kaoru screamed at Kyouya's face as he exited his path, arriving at last at the mountain top, "What the hell?"

Behind him was a panting Natsu, shooting a murderous glare towards the same person, "You are by _far_ the most ridiculous employer I've _ever_ had."

Kyouya smiled innocently, "Oh? What have I done? Mori-senpai and I had a pretty smooth trip, I say. Was something _not right_ with your path?"

"HELL YES!" The pair screamed again, "What was with the water balloons, the female ghost's scream, the bouncy Frankenstein's head – and last, but not least, a _life-size moose model_?"

Kyouya shrugged, "C'mon. I just wanted to shake it up a little. A race is no fun without obstacles."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu pointed at her dirt-covered top and at Kyouya and Mori's clean ones, "Why may I ask then, did you not have your _own_ fun with obstacles?"

"Of course we had obstacles," Kyouya shrugged again, "I just knew where they all were. So it was like they weren't there. Right, Mori-senpai?"

Mori nodded.

"Diffusing bombs is what's fun for me, not experiencing the bombs myself." The demon lord remarked in a matter-of-fact manner, "You should all know that by now."

"No one thinks experiencing bombs is _fun_!" Kaoru and Natsu retorted in unison. And then Hikaru came out, carrying an apparently blissfully passed out Hunny on his back – the first thing he did was, again, scream at Kyouya.

"The heck was that?" Hikaru shoved Hunny into Mori's arms while Natsu rushed to his aid, "Those obstacles were anything _but_ what a natural forest would have!"

Kaoru patted his twin on the back consolingly, "It's okay, we got it too. So what were yours like?"

Hikaru snorted, "Let's see… there was this giant coffin that had a random vampire in there; there was an enormous _chipmunk_ with a weird _ferocious_ face; there was a strange 'moo' coming from nowhere; and when we were near the top, an _octopus_ – thank God it was fake – jumped on Hunny-senpai's head and scared him to death. Look, he fainted!"

Mori waved hysterically and demanded at Natsu, "Natsu, is there a need for CPR?"

Natsu, also super nervous for her favourite senpai, checked the pulse and shook her head, "Pulse is still strong. I hope he'd wake up soon. Although I do think it's a good idea to bring a cold towel… a scare seemed to have warmed up his head, for some strange reason."

Kyouya unhappily snatched his assistant away as she placed a hand on Hunny's forehead, "Natsuki, get over here, I need your help. Now, you heard about all those obstacles. For the next hour I want you to tally the costs of all these equipments and pay them as soon as we get back to the foot of the mountain."

Natsu rolled her eyes, "What about Tamaki-senpai and Haruhi? They still need to get here for a report."

"Now that you mention it, they _are_ taking longer than expected," Kyouya nodded pensively, "I didn't expect them to be this slow."

"Maybe something happened," Hikaru suggested, "We should wait a bit longer and see."

* * *

Tamaki chuckled.

Haruhi appeared to sulk, "Why are you laughing at a time like this?"

"It's just kind of funny, we being stuck in a ditch and all that." Tamaki remarked with a smile, "Besides, look on the bright side, at least our _lunch_ didn't get ruined."

"True." Haruhi had to agree. Thanks to the lunch that wasn't ruined, despite sitting for three hours in the same spot, she wasn't that hungry. That didn't mean she wasn't hungry at all, but that's another story.

"But we're going to be stuck here for a while and I don't like that idea," she confessed, "It doesn't seem like we're going to be found. Our screams were not even heard."

Tamaki shrugged, "Oh, but I trust Kyouya and the others. They're a capable bunch. They can find us, I'm sure of it."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I know him." The King beamed at his "daughter" and nodded cheerfully.

"Yeah," Haruhi squeezed out a small smile and went into her own train of thoughts. It seemed as if, in her life, she'd never found someone to rely so much on. She loved her father, for sure, and she trusted him – but it was not that kind of trust. Sometimes her faith in him falters, because of the nature of his character. Other than her own family, she didn't seem to have that kind of trust in anyone else – aside from herself. She believed in herself, for certain. She'd try for anything, and she'd believe that she'd accomplish them all. It was a habit that she had developed, and from time to time, she realized that it was because she expected herself to solve everything that she didn't have that kind of trust in anyone else anymore.

In a way, brave. In another way, pretty pathetic.

She sighed and moved a bit, but felt a pulling power in her ankle and let out a small squeal, "Ouch."

"Hmm?" Tamaki blinked and inquired, "What's wrong?"

"It's my left foot," she replied, "I think I sprained it."

"Let me see?" Tamaki scowled in concern and reached for the foot. He took off the shoe and peeled down the sock, and let out a gasp. "It seems rather swollen and painful. How'd you manage to endure it all these hours?"

Haruhi shrugged, "I guess I was caught up thinking about the rescue that I forget about other things."

Tamaki shook a finger disapprovingly at her face, "You know, you really need to learn to take care of yourself. Are you tired?"

The girl wanted to say no, but when a yawn escaped her mouth, that thought was out.

"I thought so," Tamaki chuckled, "You know, the best way to forget pain is to sleep."

His smile widened as he opened his arms, "So, come to daddy and get some sleep."

Haruhi began to yawn like a chainsaw, and did not want to object. She really needed some sleep. Slowly, she crawled into the arms of her "father" and closed her eyes, feeling strangely peaceful until some terribly off-tune lullaby set in.

"…Senpai, stop that. You sing horribly."

"What!" She felt the arms around her jerk, "Oooh, how dare you bad daughter say such damaging things to the pure heart of a father who wants nothing but good sleep for his daughter?"

Haruhi smiled and made no answer. When Tamaki looked down again, she was sound asleep.

* * *

The first thing that woke Tamaki was an immensely bright light shining at his eyes. Just as he was about to scream, he remembered Haruhi's presence and simply waved one of his arms hysterically, pressing back the urge to yell.

The light subsided, and he saw that it was the twins holding a _stage light_. No wonder it was so bright that Tamaki thought it was morning. It was, in fact, quite dark at night. The twins, though relieved to find Tono, did not very much fancy the idea of Haruhi sleeping in his arms.

"You found us!" Tamaki hissed with joy, "Quick, get Haruhi out of here. She twisted her ankle and she's tired."

"Jeez, how did you end up in _here_?" Natsu's voice groaned as she slowly set down a rope ladder into the ditch, "This ditch is _way_ off course from your path!"

Tamaki scratched his head sheepishly, "Well, I was scared of that female ghost! It was _creepy_ with all the blood and stuff all over her face and yeah…" He lifted Haruhi and put her on his back, and proceeded to climb the ladder. It wasn't easy, but he managed to get close enough to the top to have the twins lift her to the ground without waking her.

Hunny blinked in concern and waved Bun-Bun's ear, "Haru-chan is okay, ne?"

"She's asleep and she has a twisted ankle, but that's about it." Tamaki said as he finally reached the ground, "And _Kyouya_, what's with all those crazy obstacles? _You_ caused this accident!"

Kyouya, of course, shrugged, "I didn't know that you'd be such a wimp. And by the way, since you two came in last…"

"NO." The troupe, including Mori, protested in unison.

"Fine, I'll let you off easy this time, since everyone is unanimously against me." The demon lord sighed and shrugged as all except for Hunny rushed to Haruhi's aid. The two watched as Mori bandaged up the hurt foot with the help of Natsu, and as the other three disputed over the right to carry her.

Hunny remarked pensively, "Although there was an accident, I'd say it was a good move, Kyo-chan."

Kyouya smirked, "I'm glad senpai agrees with me."

The two suddenly glared at each other, wearing the why-am-I-talking-to-you-about-this look, and immediately looked in unison towards Natsu. The girl was oblivious as always, and simply scribbled under a flashlight in her notebook.

"At least this thing didn't turn out as crazy as I thought it would be…" she mumbled and shrugged.

Boy. Imagine how this one struggled to actually go on this trip _at all_ the night before.

* * *

**Yue: **Well, here you go. I hope I did well with that XD. I certainly loved writing it. Next up will be a sports festival – in which Tamaki trumps Kyouya XD! More severe spoilers of the manga shall set in (not that it wasn't already there), starting next chapter. You be warned. And yes, I'll tell you when the spoilers are over. After that, it'll be completely _my_ plot and _my_ ending.  
Please leave a **review**!


	12. Childhood

**Disclaimer: **I own Ouran – yeah right. Who believes me? If you do, I thank you, but no, I don't.

**Yue: **Sorry, I decided to not write about the sports festival because it really was too much for me :(. Hatori-san put in so many interesting races that would take ages to describe! So, I regret to say you that all the **Hunny/Na **moments are about **over**. I'll see what else I can add though. From now on, it's **Kyo/Na full steam**!  
This chapter is rather short, and kind of like an extra chapter. Do enjoy though!

Thanks to _SoundzofSilence_, _Opera-Gypsy_, and _tuxie13_ for reviewing!

* * *

Luxury 12 – Childhood

"Oh, oh, look what we found!"

Doubtlessly, it was the twins. They had the same mischievous grins on the faces as their fingers clutched on the same wrinkly photograph, waving it in unison, looking utterly unnatural.

The others gathered around them, peeking curiously at the content of the photograph, "Oh my," Tamaki blinked, "Why would this sort of a picture be in Kyouya's album?"

Kyouya paused his task and turned with a raised eyebrow, "What did you find? Let me see?"

He snatched the photograph from the twins and inspected it, before his cold expression resolved into a smile, "Oh, her."

"Who is she?" Hunny blinked curiously and poked at the picture, "Who is this really cute girl with really cute pigtails? Does Kyo-chan know her?"

"…Why must I tell you about it?"

"C'mon, tell us about it." The twins chimed in unison, the mischievous grins wider than ever, "Is it your _first love_?"

Kyouya answered dryly, "No."

"Aww."

"But I did like her a lot."

"Oh?"

"And that doesn't mean I have approved telling you about her."

Hunny pouted childishly, "Come on, Kyo-chan! Pleeeeease tell us about her? It's the only non-you picture you had in the album!"

"Yeah Kyouya," Tamaki concurred, "You've never even told _me_ anything about her! And I swear – you took this picture out every time you showed me your album, didn't you?"

"I did," Kyouya affirmed, "And I regret forgetting to take it out today. End of story."

But when Haruhi opened her mouth to echo with everyone else, Kyouya found it impossible to refuse – for one thing, Haruhi had become the precious mascot of the club. Her words were gold. "Please tell us about her, Kyouya-senpai. I'd like to know the story behind it."

Determined not to suffer group puppy eyes, Kyouya sighed and gave way, "…Fine."

"Yay!" Hunny jumped and waved Bun-Bun happily, "So what's her name?"

"I don't know," Kyouya confessed as he took the picture and stared into the beaming face of the young girl in pigtails, "It was the one thing I forgot to ask."

Tamaki snorted, "Well that was certainly helpful. So, uh, how did you know her and take her picture?"

The club watched in amazement as Kyouya's eyes turned dreary, seemingly ready to unfold an ancient tale…

"It was a long story."

* * *

What was it that he couldn't listen to? A seven-year-old Ootori Kyouya marched grumpily away from the main mansion. Yes, he was seven. But he had the right to listen to what his parents wanted to say!

Of course he didn't express that idea when mother told him to leave the room. He had to smile and nod and say "Yes, mother" and calmly exit through the main exit. But it just wasn't fair! How come Onee-sama and Onii-sama get to listen to what their parents were saying? He was their son too!

And of course, Kyouya had no idea that it was because that he was only seven. At such a young age, he found himself rather capable, and he really did believe in himself – that he could handle whatever his parents were discussing.

He snorted and kicked a rock so hard that it flew. He was so prepared to storm off until he heard a high-pitched squeal, "_Ow!_"

Raising his eyebrows, he looked dubiously towards the source of the sound. He was sure that no one would be in the yard at a time like this – he meant that no one he knew. He found himself looking at a short young girl standing under a cherry tree, apparently on the brink of tears. Her long dark hair was separated into two long pigtails, wrapped by blue ribbons, and she wore a cute white blouse and a knee-length skirt. Definitely not someone that Kyouya knew, that was for sure. Another thing he knew for sure was – heck, he made a girl cry! That's something that would make him look bad. He must then go and console the girl with his fake benevolence so that she would not blame him.

And thus he proceeded towards her, trying his best to put on a concerned face, "I'm sorry, are you all right?"

The girl raised her teary eyes and looked up. Magical little thing, she was. As soon as she saw Kyouya's face, her tears vanished.

"Oh, it's someone my age." She shrugged nonchalantly, "I won't bother with crying then."

_Huh?_ Kyouya's eyebrows flew up and he mentally noted that he hated her already. "Miss? I don't understand what you're trying to say."

The girl snorted and squinted at his face, "Playing one of those big people, eh? I don't like people like you."

Kyouya's temper flared, but he had been taught the meaning of "control" – for that, he continued in a polite voice, albeit a trembling one, "Miss?"

"C'mon, you gotta be pretty angry to kick a rock that hard!" The girl sneered, "So why are you saying nice things to me? Swear away!"

Okay, he _really_ didn't like her. "I'm sorry, would you prefer it if I go tell my parents?"

Using his parents as a "shield" was something that he liked doing. It seemed to work with every kid that he wasn't happy with. But not this one – this was a peculiar one.

"Your parents? Ootori-sama?" The girl blinked innocently, "Go ahead. I have no problem with crying in front of big people. Besides, you kicked a rock on me. You haven't apologized yet!"

"I _did_ apologize," Kyouya spat through his teeth, "It was the first thing I've ever said to you."

The girl smiled, looking more annoying than ever, "You probably didn't mean it."

Let's just say young Kyouya was at his limits. He was already unhappy from being neglected in a conversation, and now this girl! He snorted and barked angrily at her, "_You're annoying!_"

The girl plugged her ears to wait for the imaginary echo of the sound to subside, and then let out a little smile that didn't nearly look as annoying as before, "There, I like you better now."

Kyouya raised his eyebrows again. He was confused.

"See, don't you feel a bit better after being yourself?" Her smile widened into a grin, "I have to say you looked pretty angry. If you didn't let it out you would've been unhappy for a while, especially after pretending to be nice."

"I _am_ unhappy," He replied sulkily, "And don't think you've made me feel any better. Besides, 'letting it out' is bad. You can't let others know your true feelings, or they'll take advantage of you."

The girl blinked, clueless, "I don't know what this 'abvanbage' is; I just know that when I want to feel better, I'll be myself, because that's the only way I can feel better."

Kyouya raised his eyebrows again. He's never heard it put that way before. "Ne, how old are you anyway?"

"I'm six."

"No wonder," the boy shrugged, "Only kids like you would feel this way. Just like a kid's way of thinking."

She snorted, raising an eyebrow of her own, "And how old are you, seven?"

"…Yes."

"So what makes you say that to me? You're only a year older! You're a kid too!"

"Wha – I'm so _not_ a kid."

"You're not? You're only _thiiiis _much taller than me," she playfully held out a pinky and stuck out her tongue, making him angrier than ever, "I am mentally older than you by at least ten years!"

"Liar," She snorted again, "Prove it."

Kyouya paused. How can this possibly be proven in a dialogue of this sort? Nonetheless, this would not stop him from attempting – for one thing, this girl really, _really_ irritated him. "All right. You said being yourself makes you happy, right? You can only be yourself when you're alone. People will use you if you be yourself in public, especially in front of people you don't know."

She tilted her head questioningly, her eyes reflecting that she understood some, but not all; "How do you know they will use you? Not everyone is evil like that. Besides, you don't have to _not_ be yourself in front of people you don't know. You have to choose the right time!"

"Ah, but you see there's a risk – danger, if you don't know what that means," Kyouya pointed out, "You say that not everyone is evil like that. But how do you know the person you talk to is _not _evil? For example, can you tell whether I'm evil or not?"

She blinked twice, before letting a string of laughter escape, "You're not evil."

"Again, how do you know?"

She smiled and pointed at him, looking more amused than ever, "If you're evil you wouldn't be saying all that to me. You would've let me explore my own problems. Evil people won't care about me."

_So she's not _that_ stupid,_ remarked Kyouya to himself. "Okay, not that I care about you or anything, but let's say you're lucky to not meet an evil person today. What about everyday else?"

"I don't know, and I don't really care," she laughed again, "If I feel like that it's the time to be myself, I'll be myself. It makes me happy."

"But that happiness is temporary," reasoned Kyouya, "If being yourself is grasped by that evil person as your weakness, your happiness would be gone for a really long time!"

This time she began to look serious, "Really?"

"I don't lie," affirmed Kyouya.

"But I just want to be myself," she lowered her eyelids and sighed, "I always have to pretend to be a good little smiling girl in front of the big people, and sometimes I get really tired and just want to kick a rock at someone, you know."

Ah, so they _are_ rather similar too.

"Is it wrong to want to be yourself?" She sighed again, twirling her left pigtail in confusion. Kyouya paused to ponder over the matter, and he had to admit, "No. I mean, I kicked a rock too, right? So I know how you feel."

"Then why is it so dangerous to be yourself?" The girl shook her head, "The world is weird."

Kyouya made no answer. For a while, there was no sound – except for the wind, gently navigating the loose cherry blossom petals, creating a weak rustle from time to time.

"Think of it this way," Finally, the boy broke the awkward silence, "If you pretend for a while, when you too become a big person, it might be easier for you to succeed. That way, you'll be happier and for a really long time too. Then you might be able to meet someone who thinks the same way as you do, and then you can really be yourself. I guess it's just a matter of time."

She blinked again and chewed her lower lip with a scowl, thinking hard. At last such impression resolved, and towards his face she gave a true, sincere beam of a real young girl, "Fine, you win this argument."

As she turned to inspect the cherry tree Kyouya rubbed his eyes, wondering if such a beam was an illusion, and for the first time since seeing her face he thought,

_She's cute._

* * *

"You're leaving, eh?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "Okaa-sama is waving at me on the corridor over there. It's been fun kicking rocks around with you!"

Kyouya twitched. He didn't know how he had brought himself to perform such an idiotic act, but… he's been kicking rocks around with this girl for the last two hours. It was heck of a lot of fun, though. Made him completely forget about his childish grudge against his parents. And, seriously, he didn't want her to leave.

Suddenly, his eyes brightened upon seeing his butler roaming about the same corridor. Grinning, he dragged her towards his butler and whispered into the butler's ears, before dragging her back towards the cherry tree.

"Say cheese," He grinned on the side as his confused butler stood in position to snap a perfect snapshot of the pigtailed girl. For a moment she didn't know what was going on, but she did beam – because, from Ootori Kyouya's point of view, she was very happy.

She waved goodbye as she ran towards her mother. Kyouya watched her go away with a rare smile on the face, savouring the rare stupidity of such a rare idiot until he realized that he himself was a rather big idiot –

He completely forgot to ask her name.

* * *

"And I've never seen her again. I don't remember the face of her mother either, so there was no way I could ever figure out who she was." The seventeen-year-old Kyouya finished off, still wearing an abnormal non-Kyouya pure childish smile, "But I guess a story like that stays better the way it is."

"Awwwwww," Tamaki, of course, was tear-struck as he declared in the most dramatic tone one can think of, "That was such a touching story! Was it really your first love, Kyouya?"

"…No."

"We don't believe you." The rest of the club shrugged and nodded unanimously, including Mori.

Kyouya sighed, "Whatever."

"Oh my, that means you sort of agreed!" Tamaki exclaimed even more, a sly grin on the face, "Usually when we're wrong, you'd use about five different mechanisms to prove that you're right, but this time - "

The door suddenly flew open, and the assistant Natsu entered with a pile of clothes in the hands, "I'm back!"

"…You left?"

"…I was never here? I went to pick up the new costumes. So what's up?" The girl marched in and laid down the costumes onto the nearest chair available, before the photograph in Kyouya's hand caught her eye.

"…Huh?" She scowled and snatched the photograph from his hand, staring incredulously into the face of the little girl. When the words of _doom_ escaped her mouth, the entire club could jump into a river…

"Why am I in this picture?"

The jaws dropped unanimously as all but Kyouya babbled in indignity, "OMGWTFBBQ, THAT'S _YOU_?"

Natsu raised her eyebrows and argued in a matter-of-fact manner, "Uh, yeah? As much as I sometimes fail to put the names to the right faces, I wouldn't make a mistake in recognizing myself, would I?"

Kyouya twitched as the others' eyes landed on him, clearly teasing him. He rolled his eyes. If he had known that that girl was _Natsuki_, he would _never_ have told them about it.

Natsu, clueless as ever, did no more than stare blankly into the photo, "Hmm, it seemed like so long ago… I don't remember what happened there at all."

_Hmph_. Kyouya snorted and turned around, determined to work on his laptop for the rest of the afternoon and not say a word.

"But…"

The club blinked as Natsu beamed, for once actually resembling that girl in the very picture.

"I must've been exceptionally happy to have been able to smile like that!"

"…" With his back to everyone else, Kyouya felt that it was safe to let a trace of a smile climb onto the corner of his lips. This time it was Hunny's turn to snort.

"If I'm not mistaken, today it was Kyouya-senpai bringing in his album? How'd you get this picture and what happened?"

_Heh. _Kyouya turned around and smirked at his clueless assistant - a smirk that rooted her and the rest of the club dead to the ground, not capable of anything but stare and shiver,

"I'll never tell you, you idiot."

"...Oh, c'mon, I have a right to know about a photograph of myself!"

"Fine, but that won't be until 1000 years later."

"_Kyouya-senpai!_"

* * *

**Yue: **Hope you liked it :D! And yes, leaving a **review** would really make my day :D.


	13. Waltz

**Disclaimer: **If only I owned Ouran.

**Yue: **XD I lied. My life had been busy like heck since the last update. Sorry. But the new update is here! Anyway, the mood swing of this chapter is **hilarious – funny – serious – deep** XD. I really hope you can take it and enjoy it. You can see I wrote this in separate time intervals XD. Please leave a **review**! It would make me tearfully happy.

Thanks to _FreakyD45663_, _Opera-Gypsy_, _BumbleBeexDanni Lea_, _tuxie13_, _SoundzofSilence_, _red-jello04_, _xXDeidaraXx_, _shizouo_, _brightspirit_(even though I'm not sure what you meant :P), _TheWinchesterAngel_, and _Sailor-Moon-Z_ for reviewing! Hugs to you all XD!

* * *

Luxury 13 – Waltz

"Oh, I unquestionably love you at the biggest scale possible…"

Natsu mumbled deliriously, speaking gibberish as she inched closer to her target, who flinched with distaste. He stepped back even more as the girl, who really did look like a boy, widened her eyes and emitted a savagery aura, as if she could really jump on him and rip him into pieces with her ever-so-sharp fingernails. All seemed to revert into slow-motion as the girl's eyebrows pressed down at her eyes, her mouth forming a hungry smirk as her tongue briefly brushed by her top lip. The target was strongly reminded of a coyote, and he felt like a helpless sheep; all he could really do was swallow his saliva of fear. The poor man literally screeched as Natsu, as we foresaw, leapt at him –

You didn't know how relieved the delivery mailman was when all the crazy girl did was swipe the magazines out of his hands.

"**COME TO MAMA**, SEASONAL ANTIQUE CATALOGUE!" Saliva inelegantly dripped down the corner of Natsu's mouth as she waved dismissively at the distraught mailman, who was still in the aftershock of being about to be jumped on by another man. The poor mailman was only too glad to be outta there.

Natsu hummed cheerfully as she whipped the door of the Third Music Room shut. Tamaki watched in awe as this abnormality skipped and whirl-danced like a mere child, "Whoa, sister, you really go at your seasonal catalogues, don't you?"

"It is only natural for a seller to love all that she sells," The girl replied absent-mindedly as she wistfully flipped open the cover, and, inevitably, lit up like a light on a Christmas tree. "Oh my! These a _b-e-a-u-_tiful! Such glaze, such ethereal hue, such thinness… I must contact the manufacturers as soon as possible! A-h-h-h, it's _that_ company! We're old partners. I'll be able to get a fifty-percent discount in that case! This is the best day ever - "

"That's Natsuki for you," On the side, Kyouya shook his head hopelessly, "Don't even bother _trying_ to talk any sense into her whenever the seasonal antique catalogues arrive."

Hunny delivered a forkful of cake into his mouth and nodded continuously.

"My, don't _you_ act like you know her a lot," Hikaru smirked evilly and chimed in, only to be interrupted by a screeching, nasty "BEEEEEEEEP…"

Kaoru grunted in dislike, "For our dear ears and brains and medulla oblongata's sake, change that damned ringtone, Natsu."

Natsu, still in wonderland from the eye overdose of beautiful antiques, ignored him and snapped open her phone, "He-l-l-l-oo?"

"Well, well, _someone_ is hyper." A familiar female voice chuckled on the other side, clearly more than amused. Natsu perked right up at that voice as her own jaw dropped in disbelief, "Fuyumi-nee-san?"

"Nee-san?" That was enough to perk Kyouya, too, right up from where he was.

Natsu removed the phone and stared at Kyouya. The latter gave her a shrug, seeming like he knew no more than she did. She sighed and put the phone back at her ear, "…How did you know this cell phone number…? I don't remember putting it on my site… I do all my sales on another cell phone, I think… right?"

"Ohohoho, I have my sources." A special Japanese-flag-like fan appeared out of nowhere in Fuyumi's hands as she fanned continuously over her smirking mouth, "Anyway, let's get in business quick. I have an extra ticket to -"

The club watched in curiosity as Natsu's face turned from disinterest to paying attention, to interested, and then, finally, looking exactly like how she was when she first spotted the mailman holding her stack of seasonal antique catalogue.

"Presentation of all the medicinal findings and sales reports in the last _decade_? Are you kidding? I would _love_ to go!"

Haruhi sighed and slurred in boredom, "She sounded like she's just been invited to a theme park. This girl has _really_ strange hobbies." That boredom soon vaporized and condensed into interest as Natsu's face darkened yet again, "But there won't happen be a dance, will there?"

Fuyumi's fanning frequency only increased, "Oh, but of course, dear. There are always dances in Ootori firm's events."

The poor girl nearly melted in distraught, "…It's a tough decision, but, err, I'll pass. Please invite someone else, Fuyumi-nee-san."

"Oh, but are you sure, Natsu? It's _all_ the medicinal findings _and_ sales reports in the last entire _decade_. Are you absolutely positive that you would miss such once-every-ten-years event just because of the occurrence of a _dance_? And besides, you promised me already. Real girls don't go back on their words, do they now, Natsu?"

"But - "

"I'll see you there, right?" The air around Fuyumi was so dark and it oh-so-greatly contrasted with that white, graceful fan in her hand.

The metal gears inside Natsu's brain turned and wheeled and clanked, making veins in her head visible. At last the temptation of medical records won out as the poor girl sighed in defeat, "Yeah, I'll see you there."

_Victory_! Screamed an inner Fuyumi triumphantly. _And now for the best part_… The evil sister took a deep breath and began speeding through her last evil request…

"Oh yeah, I just remembered something – my brother, Kyouya, you're friends, right? If I'm not mistaken, he should be somewhere around you right now, right? He hasn't picked a dance partner yet, so why don't you go with him? The report starts in two hours, so when you're done with the Host Club and stuff you can just get in the limo with him and come straight to the Ootori mansion. Okay, have fun and I'll see you there!"

"WHA - " The poor girl screamed into the phone, but answering her was nothing more than "beep, beep, beep…"

The unfortunate being's fingers trembled as she clasped her phone shut. The Host Club watched in wonder as she, amidst more traumatic shaking, stuffed the phone back into her pocket, raised her head, and sent two beautiful, yellow, prickly and _murderous_ Godzilla eye beams at the very face of her "employer".

Kyouya, half guessed what happened by observing the reaction of the poor girl, was unmoved as he sighed, "Let me guess. Nee-san invited you to our family presentation and made you my dance partner."

"Oh my. How. Did. You. Know." Spat Natsu through the, as we know, _very_ thin gaps between her teeth, sounding like she just gargled on a dead monkey.

Meanwhile, Hunny remarked, sounding pleasant but thinking otherwise, "Oops, I bent my fork."

"…How did you bend it, Hunny-senpai? It's high-quality alloy with almost no malleability…"

"Hehehehehe, beats me."

Kyouya sighed again, massaging the side of his forehead with two of his fingers, "My, my, Nee-san is troublesome as ever. And _you_ – why did you agree when you know that your family will too be there?"

Natsu could really, really scream.

"Oh _crap_, I completely, completely let that slip out of my head!"

"Some smart girl you are."

"Well I'm _sorry_ if I am way too interested in _your_ company's medicinal findings in the last decade!"

"…Like I'm supposed to feel honoured. Well, no matter."

Kyouya's eyes met Natsu's freaked out ones, slowly morphing from a thinking mode to an "I'm-done-thinking-and-I'm-now-going-to-make-you-miserable" mode – a mode that made his poor assistant back right into the arms of the Hitachiin twins.

Exactly. The Hitachiin twins.

"You wouldn't mind now, would you, Hikaru, Kaoru?" The Demon Lord's smirk widened as he nodded at the twins, too grinning with all the danger in them, "Only too glad, sir."

Poor Natsu. To think just a few moments ago, she was overjoyed at her seasonal antique catalogue. Now, she could only cry as the Hitachiin twins dragged her into a dressing room and stood her in front of a pile of dresses, heels and wigs.

* * *

The report, Natsu had to confess, was interesting enough. It made her feel like it was all worth the trouble. But the moment Ootori Kyouya offered her his hand, she swore she felt like biting it off and spitting it into a ditch.

How _dare_ this idiot _command_ the twins to stuff her in this misery? She's worn dresses to formal events before, but this was just ridiculous. With each step she took, the giant pile of jewelry clinked against each other, the bulky heel below her feet shook. And worst of all, the _fake hair_ (which extended all the way to her waist) brushed annoyingly against her bare shoulders, as if trying to tick her off on purpose.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow and remarked with brutal honesty, "If you're trying to bite my hand off, don't bother. You know I did this so that not even your own family would recognize you. And to save my face from having a hermaphrodite as a dance partner."

Natsu grumpily contacted one of her fingers with his glove, mentally noting that she'd throw this entire set of attire away as soon as she gets home. Or sell it. Perhaps that's a better idea.

"If you dispose of these clothes, I'll veto your account."

Wha? He's a mind reader too! And so ruthless as always!

She was just _no match_ for him.

Of course things would get worse. They were too soon spotted by Fuyumi.

"My, my, you really came!"

The beautifully innocent smile sent a chill down Natsu's spine. Of course, the chills stopped nothing. Fuyumi treaded over and, upon gazing at Natsu's _clothes_, clapped her hands and grinned with delight, "Oh my! What a beautiful set of attire!"

Kyouya shot his assistant a smug look, "See? I told you it looks fine."

"Fine is an understatement for it. She looks radiant! I never knew she could look like that! I mean, sure I know she has potential, but hey… I just can't imagine her looking like this from the last time I saw her…"

"Yeah, thanks." Natsu sighed dejectedly, "From the many options I have, I'll choose to take that as a compliment."

Fuyumi laughed, "Sharp child. It _is_ a compliment. I like the hairstyle! You should really consider growing your _real_ hair. Wavy locks suit you!" Natsu stiffened as Fuyumi scanned over her like an inspector, "If you weren't attached onto Kyouya's arm I truly wouldn't recognize you. Hmm. Your attire today is the work of a true artist. Hitachiins, I assume?"

"Indeed." Kyouya smiled and affirmed, "This girl was wiggling throughout the entire car ride complaining about it. Can you believe her?"

Fuyumi chuckled, "Haha, I guess our little Natsu would always be a fashion disaster."

Great. The dance hasn't even started and she was already starting to be made fun of.

"So why aren't the Hitachiins there? Why aren't any of your other friends here, for that matter?"

Kyouya snorted, "Them, interested in a _medicine_ report? Pigs can truly fly then. Only this abnormality - " He gestured playfully at Natsu's sulking head, " – would come along. Oh, and by the way, she won't be using Akazawa Natsu as her name tonight." He pushed his glasses and stated, "Her alias for the night will be Oou Tsunami."

_Big tsunami_. Beautifully creative indeed.

And of course, Natsu did _not_ pick that alias. Guess who did?

Fuyumi raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off nonetheless. "Well then, Tsunami-chan, how did you like the report?"

At the mention, Natsu immediately forgot about the discomfort of holding onto Kyouya's arm as her eyes began sparkling with delight, "It was better than I had ever expected! I'm very surprised at the progression of the development of an Alzheimer's cure. Sure it can't cure anything yet, but being able to slow down the disease alone is a great accomplishment! And I loved that complete analysis of the brain! I was actually able to learn something new about the medulla oblongata which I never knew before! There was also some really interesting information on the hypothalamus. It was infinitely better than I had expected!"

Fuyumi chuckled, clearly amused, "Well then, it's time for you to think about something other than brains – for now. Really, Kyouya – with her passion of brains – and other organs, of course – she'd make a great wife for the Ootori family, wouldn't she?"

"Not so sure about that." Kyouya shrugged, "She seems ready to bite my hand off any minute. She would make a perfectly _scary_ wife, for sure. For now, I'll stay back. One of my Nii-samas can have that honour."

"I'm flattered," Natsu sighed and stated dryly, "But I too prefer my beautiful single life for now."

Fuyumi snickered childishly into her palms, "I love the way you say that while holding obediently onto my brother's arm. Really, you're the funniest girl I've ever met." Her grin only widened as the poor girl sighed once more. "And you know how I can't wait to see you two dance together – my, it'll be quite a sight, heeheehee…"

"Kill me…" Natsu muttered in a voice that only mosquitoes could hear. But hey, the report was satisfying. It was worth it. Right? Right? Riiiiiight?

Her pondering was halted by a sudden male voice that somehow made its way over to this little puny circle. Just the voice alone sent a chill down her spine, prompting her to look up immediately.

"Fuyumi, watch your manners. Your mouth is too open for a lady. And stop coming over here. You should be with your husband."

As Fuyumi retreated obediently, Natsu found herself staring right into the face of Ootori Yoshio – a face she didn't particularly like much, and a face that, she was sure, despised _her_ for what she did. Her hacking into her family, Tooyama firm's system, didn't last that long, but it was long enough to have made the entire Ootori firm lose some profit. For that reason, she was sure – once Ootori Yoshio set eyes on her, he would bash her like one would never imagine. One thing she knew about this old man was that he never showed mercy to people he didn't like.

For a moment she was completely stale and blank. Heck, she wasn't even a match of his youngest _son_, let alone the old man. But she knew enough to return normal the moment she received a quick elbow from her employer. Kyouya shot her a meaningful glance that she was almost thankful for – it reminded her that she was, currently, unrecognizable.

Nevertheless, it didn't stop her from perking right up as the man's gaze swam from his daughter to herself. She gulped as he glanced briefly at her from head to toes. His piercing gaze almost made her back off, almost gave her the impression that he recognized her. Relieve waved over her as he finally withdrew his eyes and questioned his son instead, "And this young lady is…?"

Kyouya lowered his head briefly in response, "She is the daughter of one of our doctors' friend. Her name is Oou Tsunami. She is interested in the field of medicine and that is the reason she came."

Yoshio nodded, and then remarked, "You _do_ remember my lecture of choosing the right dance partners, don't you?"

"Yes." Kyouya's face looked expressionless.

"Well then," Yoshio's eyes swam once again over Natsu's tense face, "Let's see what this one's got."

Natsu realized that she wasn't breathing as soon as the man walked out of sight. While trying to retrieve her oxygen unnoticed, she peeked at her employer. She swore that, for a second, he looked tired.

Of course he was tired. He barely had the liberty choose any of his belongings (Natsu exclusive) because of his status and goal. Natsu felt incredibly lucky compared to him; at least she was under no pressure anymore.

"Senpai –" she began, but he stopped her, "There, there, I don't need your pity. What _you_ need to do right now is behave as perfectly and as womanly as possible. Remember, the moment anyone recognizes you, your public dignity is doomed. So at least try acting like a proper lady."

"Quit diverting the topic on me!" She hissed, annoyed, "And stop pretending like nothing's bothering you. Forgive me if this offends you, but how can you stand this? Aren't you tired at all with all the restrictions and stuff? Don't you at all crave for just a bit of freedom?"

Kyouya snorted and replied coldly, "Since when do you care?"

"I don't know," She shrugged and said frankly, "But now I'm confident that I understand you enough to care."

This sentence caused Kyouya's eyes to widen and caused him to stare. Natsu evaded his amused eyes and mumbled dejectedly, "I guess that was a redundant outburst."

"Not at all," Kyouya's smirk widened into a greater arc, "This proves that at least for now, I picked the right dance partner."

"…Why does that sound dangerous to me?"

"Think of it however way you like. Anyway, no, you do not need to _care_ about me," The Shadow King recaptured the girl's attention by remarking nonchalantly, "Remember – we are different people with different endurance levels and different choices. I chose this, you chose differently. I have no regrets, neither do you. There is no need to worry about me." He chuckled and gave her a pat on the head, "Just be a good dancer, maintain some manners, and you'll live through the night."

Natsu sighed and obediently lowered her head. As an assistant, she knew how he felt, and she knew he lied – it was just that she couldn't do anything about it. He was right – the only thing she could do then was to be the best dance partner she could manage.

"Can you waltz?" Kyouya whispered questioningly as he walked her towards the dance floor, "I believe we're offering many waltzes tonight."

The poor girl sighed again, "Isn't it a little too late to ask? Luckily, I was obliged to be trained before I chose to move out."

As soon as her voice ceased, the soothing sound of a violoncello set in. It was followed by a mingle of many other instruments that couldn't possibly have been told apart, shaping a harmonious and relaxing environment, sounding like a lullaby. Each sound of the strings, the air, circled the pillars in the luxurious ball room, and eventually flowed its way around every dancer's smiling complexion. There wasn't a single being who wasn't enjoying it, and not even Natsu an exception. The magical plucks of the harp suddenly made her feet tingle, successfully luring out a nostalgia of waltzing – one of the many nostalgias she forced and closed up inside her heart. It was enough to make her forget – forget her stress, forget her work, forget her ridiculous attire, forget who she was dancing with. She just didn't care anymore – she hasn't waltzed for so long and she needed it. Dreamily, she closed her eyes and edged closer to her dance partner, to the point she could feel the warmth of his chest. He noticed her unusual behaviour, and responded with a smirk more coyly than ever.

Let her keep dancing this way. He really didn't mind at all.

* * *

Natsu felt bad to have had to evade Kahoko's presence, but she had no other choice. She knew that she was disguised brilliantly, but it was better to play safe. As soon as she saw Kahoko leave the table containing _her_ favourite food, she decided it was time to "swoop in" before it gets too late. She really wanted to eat that!

Kyouya had gone to talk with some business partners, and she didn't want to look silly by always obediently attaching to his arm. She took a sip on the fruit punch that she had just acquired and thought about the waltzes she just danced. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, but that didn't last long. After all, music did that to her – her own dear neurons, without hindrance, would never permit her to do something like that.

But she _did_ seem utterly lonely then. She had to virtually evade everyone she knew, and of course people she didn't know wouldn't come talking to her. Fuyumi was ordered to stay with her husband. So she was left alone – something that she wanted, but made her look pretty pathetic amidst the crowd.

"Oou Tsunami, is it?"

The voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. Her fingers tightened around her cup of punch as her head jerked up. It was Ootori Yoshio, with unknown intentions. Calmly, she replied, hoping that he had nothing against her, "Yes, Ootori Yoshio-sama. I am pleased to meet you."

The man looked at her through his reflective pair of glasses, "A commoner, are you?"

"Yes, sir." She replied, inwardly bashing herself for sounding like such a coward.

He examined her yet again before pointing out with all honesty, "You don't act like one."

Natsu's heart skipped a beat. Pray that he didn't realize! "…Sir? I'm not sure what you mean."

Yoshio ignored her and asked another question, "Are you interested in the field of medicine?"

"A little. I've always thought neurology was something interesting to look at for spare time. I loved the presentation today and I hope to see more presentations of this sorts from the outstanding Ootori family." _Man_ it was weird saying something like that to a family that detests her.

Yoshio made no answer and continued to sink in his own world of data, mumbling to himself sentences such as "Ah, so this is it" and "I see". Finally, he turned to Natsu and looked at her, with a complex look that made her shiver and be relieved at the same time,

"I have taken an interest in you, miss. Enjoy the rest of the party."

The poor girl froze. Taken interest? What's that supposed to mean? Did he think of her as suspicious and put "finding out her true identity" on his to-do list? Before she had the chance to question him, he disappeared from her sight, leaving her alone staring frighteningly into her punch.

Not many people know that Akazawa Natsu equaled Tooyama Natsuki. Her father knew, and she was amazed that he hasn't told anyone. Her customers didn't see a connection between her drastic double personalities. Not even Kahoko knew. The Host Club members were about the only one.

For all she knew, if Ootori Yoshio ever found out about her current source of income, he'd crush her.

Unlike Kyouya, he wouldn't let someone who had once jeopardized his firm live a life that is in any way associated to prosperous.

She wasn't supposed to be at this place. She shouldn't have come at all.

She didn't like the idea of losing her only source of income.

"Oi, snap out of it." By the time she noticed Kyouya tapping on her shoulder, she had already been standing rigid for five straight minutes. "What's this? I leave and you become a completely antisocial girl standing in the middle of a meal table, looking like a statue? Am I that important to you?"

She turned and snapped, annoyed, "Don't kid yourself."

Kyouya frowned upon seeing her blanched face, "Did something happen?"

Natsu took a moment to regain her original composure, but when she spoke, she couldn't erase the hesitation in her voice. "I… don't think I'm supposed to be here. I mean, I don't really deserve being here after - "

"Shh," The Shadow King shot her a warning look. They stood in silence for a moment, before Kyouya sighed,

"All right, let's talk. Fancy a moonlight walk along the hallway?"

"I wouldn't mind."

* * *

They walked along the paved and empty hallway for a while before either of them dared to talk. It was eerily silent out there – and a little bit cold, for that matter. Natsu pulled the edge of her glove a little harder, hoping to keep her hands warm.

They stopped in front of the fountain just by the front gate. It was then that Kyouya decided to speak.

"My father said something that intimidated you, didn't he?"

Natsu brought herself to sit on the edge of the structure and lowered her head, making no answer.

"I assume that's a yes." Kyouya watched the wigged figure as he let out a chuckle. Another pause.

"Remember the other day in the Infirmary?"

Natsu raised her head in protest to have been reminded of such an evil day, but Kyouya signaled her to keep silent. "You told me that you trusted me, albeit a little unwillingly. I assume that you still do, given that I haven't done anything to demolish that trust since then."

Natsu pouted and twisted her head to the side, like a typical child would. It only made Kyouya smirk wider.

"So, will you trust me and believe that you'll be fine, and that I won't let anything happen to you?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow and prepared to fire back, but paused upon seeing his face. Something in his eyes told her that he really, really meant it.

This made her swallow her sarcasm and ask instead, "What about _you_?"

"…Define the question."

Natsu stared into the glasses, for a moment feeling like she had seen through them. "Not so much as a question. I'd say it's a statement. You are tired from all this work that you have to do, all this pressure that you're under, and all these waltzes that you're forced to dance. You are so tired, but you never admit it and always pretend like you're fine."

Her eyes hardened, and Kyouya was almost reminded of that little girl, back when he was only seven and she six, standing under the cherry tree, looking at him with a strange kind of dislike.

"I don't like people who are so egotistical as to thinking everyone else is blind."

She finished with another pout and closed her eyes. There, she'd wanted to say that for a _long_ time now. She was glad to have been done with it. Let him get all angry and revenge-y all he wants.

So imagine her surprise when the reaction she anticipated was not a protesting argument, but a chuckle just like before. She snapped her head up to find a smiling Kyouya – a bitter smile this time. Somehow, it struck her.

"All right, you win this one." He chuckled again and shrugged, "You're insecure and I'm tired like heck. Let's call it even, shall we?"

"…"

"There was one thing that you were wrong about though," He pointed out, and her eyes widened again in protest. He laughed, and signaled her to be silent yet again. "I don't always hate my waltzes. Sometimes I even like them. The ones that we have just danced together are perfect examples."

Natsu frowned and raised both eyebrows, "What are you trying to say?"

Kyouya shook his head amusedly and held out his hand, "How about we go back to the delightful waltzes and you try to figure it out on your own?"

_This guy makes my head hurt,_ noted Natsu as she made a face and stood up, kicking a random rock towards a random direction before taking the hand of her dance partner. For a brief moment they probed deeply into each other's eyes, searching for the too many things they had in common.

She retreated first and sighed, morphing back to the whiny Natsuki, the carefree Natsuki, the _unreal_ Natsuki.

"I can't wait till this stupid night is over! Then I can take off the wig and this stupid dress and burn them in my stove or something."

Kyouya closed his eyes and replied, with a smirk, in his typical Shadow King voice,

"Don't you _dare_."

* * *

**Yue: **I know, criticize me about the mood swing! One minute it looks like a comedy, the next it switches to deep talking and compensation. But I hope you enjoyed that! Again I warn you for any manga spoilers that may appear. I hope you keep supporting me and this fic XD! I have all the ideas laid out, and I hope I'll soon finish it :D.  
Leaving a **review **would be really nice now, right?


	14. Anne Sophie

**Disclaimer: **If only I owned Ouran.

**Yue: **Firstly, I am so totally sorry for leaving this thing for such a long time T-T! I had a major "general writer's block" and ceased all sorts of writing for months. But alas, that's over now! I shall try my best yet again to finish this story, which I have indeed planned out!  
Warnings of **major manga plot spoilers** in this chapter XD!

And thanks to the so many kind people who reviewed! You made my life happier XD!

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* * *

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Luxury 14 – Anne-Sophie

Here comes a completely new day, completely new routine, and completely new scream.

"NYAAA, stop it, Kyouya-senpai!"

Natsu could seriously scream as Kyouya suddenly started dragging her with a relatively fast speed towards some sort of obscurity. He'd been doing that a lot these days – always like this whenever he had some sort of scheme to present to her. Judging by the strength with which he dragged, the assistant decided that this "something" he wanted to tell her was anything _but_ ordinary.

When he finally let go of her and turned to stare, she massaged her pained wrist and sighed, "Okay, what is it?"

Kyouya raised an eyebrow, "Is that a way to talk to your employer?"

"…Okay, of what importance is this, _sir_?"

The demon lord sighed, "What I'm about to tell you is not like anything I've ever told you to do. You must keep it a complete secret and pretend you don't know anything towards the others."

Natsu blinked, "Can I hear this thing first?"

He shot her a sharp look, "No, promise first – and I want a _promise_."

"…Fine… on the sixth of May, at twelve thirteen and… err, about 15 seconds past in the afternoon, in a bush behind the school North Building, Akazawa Natsu promises to not leak any information of whatever her employer is about to tell her using the liberty of her auction account as a bid. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Kyouya answered dryly, and cut straight into business, "The sophomore school trip this year is to France, as you know. Everyone else will think Tamaki left with us. But what _you_ need to know is that Tamaki is _not _with me. He is staying in Japan, and you must not let any club members know that. If you do happen to see Tamaki, pretend to be surprised."

"Okay…"

"That's the secret you need to keep from the other members. Now, the secret you need to keep from _Tamaki_ is that I am looking for his mother in France. This is something that everyone else knows, but Tamaki doesn't."

"Wait," Natsu massaged her head and moaned in dismay, "So… I'm supposed to act as basically a liar to _both_ sides of things while you look away in France?"

Kyouya affirmed with a smirk, "Yes, that."

"What am I? Let's see… my jobs have been turned from a student to a financial manager, and then a thief, and then a slave, then an assistant and now a liar?" The poor girl sighed hopelessly, "I pity myself."

"But I'll emphasize – your primary job other than a student right now is being my assistant," Kyouya pointed out, "So while you have fun lying to everyone, you must, through the internet, to try to find any information about Tamaki's mother – Anne-Sophie."

Right, Tamaki-senpai's mother in France. Natsu has heard the story from Haruhi. Tamaki's grandmother was not a friendly one. He was the only heir to the Suoh estate – the sole reason that he was allowed back in Japan at all. And that too came with a heavy price – the price to never see his mother again, that was what. How cruel. How very like something that Natsu abhorred. And Natsu didn't like whatever she abhorred to continue for long – so she will try to change them.

"Fine…" Poor Natsu admitted to her fate dejectedly, but the next second her face managed to light up in a smirk, "Say, senpai, since when do you bother with other people's affairs?"

Kyouya shot her a glare, "What are you trying to suggest?"

She snickered, "You know perfectly well what I'm trying to suggest. Could it be that senpai has grown to become more _caring_ these days, after the sports event and all that?"

"Hmph." He snorted in response, glaring again for having to be reminded of that evil event, and instantly counter-fired, "And what about you? You don't seem to whine about your assigned tasks anymore? Perhaps you're 'growing' as well?"

Natsu twitched.

Yes, she didn't seem to mind anything anymore.

Kyouya smirked and gave her a little pat on the head before trotting slowly towards his own tasks.

It took a good five minutes before a musing Natsu's brain started bubbling with question. She turned to inquire, only to realize that Kyouya was gone. She turned and stared at the direction which he took leave, dubious and confused,

"Hey, he's _right_ for once… so what _is_ wrong with me?"

* * *

Natsu leaned tiredly onto her chair. Any more and she would seriously smash her keyboard – which was definitely not a good sign. Despite being on the internet and researching any time she's free, plus emailing _all_ the French customers she had, she could not find a _thing _about Anne-Sophie Grantaine (1). It was truly as if she has evaporated from this world. Kyouya's trip ends in less than two days; receiving nothing from him, she knew that his side of things was perhaps not going well either. And she had to confess – she was getting rather worried.

She stood up and decided to have a drink. Perhaps some coke would help freshen her mind. After that, she'd try the long-distance phoning. She did _not _want to think about her way-overspent budget that would probably occur; she just wanted to help Tamaki-senpai and Kyouya-senpai. It was funny. It was perhaps the first time she ever _wanted_ to help someone.

As she opened a can of coke the doorbell sounded. She blinked and opened up, finding that it was Haruhi.

"Hi," Natsu waved and gestured the guest to come in, "Want some coke?"

"Sure," Haruhi nodded with a smile, "Thanks."

After some brief normal settling in, Natsu chuckled, "You didn't happen to be here to ask how the mission regarding Tamaki-senpai's mother is going?"

Haruhi took a sip of her drink, "Well, that happens to be it." Then she smiled and scratched her chin sheepishly, "Sorry if I'm bothering you."

"Not at all," Natsu shrugged nonchalantly, "In fact, I'm sorry to tell you that things are not going well at all on my side. Have you tried Kyouya-senpai's cell?"

Haruhi sighed, "See, that's the thing. I can't reach him at all. His cell phone seems to be dead."

"What?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. He _promised_ to have his phone line always open! "He hasn't been replying to me with the emails either. I don't suppose he's doing any better than I am."

Haruhi sighed again.

Natsu beamed cheerfully, "But no worries, I'm sure it's going to turn out fine. On the other hand… why do _you_ care so much? No one else seem to be bombarding me with as many questions as you do."

"I just really want Tamaki-senpai to be happy, hehe…" Haruhi shrugged and smiled, "I imagine things to be really hard for him that way… and I really do hope he meets his mother in France."

_But he's _not_ in France, because he's avoiding seeing his mother to _appease_ his grandmother… _An inner Natsu sighed. "Well, I'll do my best on that. Meanwhile, you wanna play a quick game of chess or something? I'm beat. I've been on the computer for two hours."

"Sure - "

"BEEEEEEEP…"

"Oh," Natsu twitched uncomfortably, "Sorry, that's my cell."

Haruhi chuckled, "You should really change the ringtone."

"I know. I always forget. Please give me a moment here – hello? Oh hello madam. Yes, it's Akazawa. It's been a while, hasn't it? Oh?"

Haruhi scanned lazily around as Natsu listened to the caller on the other side of the phone in silence – and was completely snapped out of it the instant Natsu's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "WHAT?"

The Host Club mascot watched as the assistant scrambled over the place for a pen and a sheet of paper, scribbling frantically while her voice trembled to answer, "Yes, yes… I'm writing it down… thank you! Thank you so much! You saved my life!"

With that she clicked her phone shut and hissed at Haruhi, "When was the last time you tried Kyouya-senpai's phone?"

Haruhi paused to think, "Yesterday."

"It'd better be working now." Natsu gritted her teeth and punched in the number. Of course, waiting for her was an operator's sweet and robotic voice, telling her that it was anything but working (with slightly different wording, of course).

"JEEZ," When she clasped her cell shut again, she was trembling with rage, "What is he _doing_?"

Haruhi blinked, more startled than ever, "What happened? One minute you were all calm and now you're jumping around like a… frog!"

Natsu made no effort to listen and shot a glance towards her clock. Two thirty.

Haruhi watched nervously as her friend proceeded to punch in another series of numbers, "Hi, my name is Akazawa Natsu. When is the earliest flight possible from now that flies from Tokyo to Paris? Takes off at five fifteen? Are there any seats left? There are three? Is it too late to take one? You can manage? Thank you! And when is the earliest return ticket possible? Two days later in the morning? Perfect, I'll take that. Thank you. It's Akazawa Natsu. Passport number? One sec please…"

Haruhi was speechless as she continued watching her friend, apparently just booked herself a flight to Paris that is in less than three hours! She lost no time to protest as soon as Natsu clicked her phone shut, "Don't overdo it, Natsu! I'm sure you can get in contact with Kyouya-senpai soon…"

Natsu fumed, "Soon? If he hasn't found anything yet, he likely won't find it tomorrow! Whatever I found was way too secretive to find in one day. I have no choice but to go there myself!"

"Natsu - "

"Trust me, I know when it's necessary to do something. I won't spend unnecessary money and you know it."

Haruhi sighed and gave way, "Fine, you hectic girl. Can I help in any way?"

"Umm… packing, yes, packing _clothes_ and stuff! I'll need two extra sets of clothes and one set of pajamas since I'm staying in a hotel for two nights…"

"… You are _not_ going to Paris in those clothes!"

Natsu blinked, clueless, "What? Is there something wrong with my clothes?"

Haruhi chuckled amusedly, "Let's see. That _shawl_ on your shoulders does _not_ go with your jeans full of holes. Let' me check your closet…" She, taking on the role of a fashion doctor, began to rummage through Natsu's closet, "My, you have so little _decent_ clothes…! Oh, here's a good set!"

Grinning, she pulled out the set with the hoodie and the skirt that Shido Fuyumi, too acting as a fashion doctor, bought for our terrible fashion disaster. The said fashion disaster, however, groaned, "Haruhi, you're _not_ making me wear that!"

"You're wearing this. Go get changed. I'll pack something else for you. Hurry! It takes an hour to get to the airport, and you'd better get there half an hour early to get all the passport stuff done!"

"Sigh…"

* * *

Natsu began to regret this.

Okay, she did get to Paris in one piece, but she was unfathomably tired. It was impossible to sleep on the plane! If that didn't sound bad enough, when she got to Paris after 12 hours of pain, it was right about midnight there; while it was midnight she had to find a hotel to settle herself in, dragging her luggage with her. When she closed her eyes, it was two. When she had to open her eyes, it was six.

She looked at the piece of paper she scribbled on. How kind of one of her old French clients to provide her with that. How lucky for her to have had a client who knew Anne-Sophie Grantaine. But the address was an hour away from Paris – and besides, Natsu didn't know how long she'd take to find the place.

She was tired, all right. But that didn't stop her. She still thought this was worth doing. As much as she thought Tamaki was an idiot, she liked him – because around him, she could be herself and not feel awkward, in a different way than whenever she was around others, even Kyouya and Hunny.

She drank some coffee to keep herself awake. Even so, she could barely keep track of her trip towards her goal. When she felt like she finally had the capacity to note whatever was going around her, she was already standing in front of the Grantaine mansion.

It was beautiful – the architecture, the rustling trees, anything.

A perfect place to escape from reality.

Natsu took a deep breath and stepped forward, only to hear a car pull to a stop behind her. She turned around and dropped her jaw instantly – it was, without a doubt, Kyouya's limo, for one thing: Kyouya's head was the first thing she spotted.

She sighed and cursed herself for bad luck; what a waste of money! If only she knew he knew! Then that money for the set of plane tickets would be of better use to her. She fumed, having done the wrong thing again, and really, _really_ wanted to let the fumes out on Kyouya.

That totally went out the window when she heard Kyouya utter to his trembling bodyguards, more or less _grumpily_, "I didn't get _any_ sleep."

Instead, settling in was _fear_. We all know that Kyouya had low blood pressure. Natsu was fearing for her own life. She sucked in as much oxygen as possible, and forced herself to fixate her eyes on the limo's door. It opened, as Kyouya's legs weakly brought himself out of his seat. His head bodyguard winced and suggested for him to rest in the car for a while, but he declined and wobbled towards Natsu. The latter gulped and took a step back, wondering if he saw her or not. His bodyguards refrained from screaming as they watched him wobble. Natsu scowled. For once, he seemed more tired than angry, and for once she forgot about her own life and gallantly opened her mouth,

"Kyouya… senpai?"

Hearing his name, Kyouya raised his head, fixing his scattered gaze at his assistant's face,

"…Natsuki?"

"WAAAA!" The girl screamed as he literally flung his arms around her and tumbled down. It took three big steps back to regain her balance and support his weight using her poor, thin arms. When she grumpily opened her mouth to inquire the reason of such a random embrace, she realized that he was fast asleep.

"Uh," Completely blank of things to do, Natsu raised her head, only to find herself staring at three incredulous bodyguards. Of course, such incredulity was immediately turned to distrust, "Let go of Kyouya-sama!"

Natsu pointed out, "In case you haven't noticed, he was the one who grabbed me? I don't know if he's talked about me with you guys, but I'm Akazawa Natsu, his personal assistant at Ouran. And I think what he needs right now is a place to rest that is not in a car or anywhere on this pavement."

The bodyguard opened his mouth to answer, but a bark came before it. Natsu turned her head and found herself looking at a dog, panting hyperactively at Kyouya's sleeping figure. She then looked up to find the owner of it, and when she did, her brain blanked out.

Golden, wavy locks; watery eyes, full of life, full of benevolence; the smile that matched the entire architecture of the mansion – elegant yet down-to-earth.

A carefree air surrounded about her as she instructed her dog, Hachibee, to stop jumping around the sleeping Kyouya. Then her eyes met Natsu's. She paused, and smiled again.

_This_, noted Natsu to herself, _is definitely Grantaine-san._

"Bonjour, young lady. You look like you have a bit of a trouble there," She chuckled and nodded at the out-cold adolescent who wrapped himself all around his poor assistant, "Did something unusual happen?"

"Ah," Natsu twitched embarrassedly, "Well, my friend here is a bit tired from long-distance travelling and he seems to have fainted out of the blue…"

The woman's smile widened and walked over to help the girl carry such weight, "Why don't you come in? Your friend looks like he needs a nice place to lie on."

_I like her,_ Natsu remarked to herself yet again, before returning a smile of her own, "Please and thank you."

* * *

Piano. Kyouya was sure he heard a piano playing. And talking. Loads of talking. Something that sounded like his bodyguards and some women's voices. And then he heard the name Anne-Sophie. Hmm. Familiar.

Anne-Sophie.

_Anne-Sophie!_

Startled, he sprang up from the bed. Blinking, he looked around. He was on a bed, and he smelled tea. Right, he fell asleep after he stepped out of his car. What a stupid thing to do. How lucky he wasn't in the sight of any annoying Host Club members. How lucky he was in France and nobody he knew could see that embarrassing ordeal. And he remembered seeing Natsuki. What a weird sight to see in a foreign country. He didn't think he missed her that much to have been hallucinating –

"Ah, you're awake!"

Kyouya turned in surprise towards the door, and when he saw Natsu entering, he seriously wanted to pinch himself.

"…Natsuki? Is that really you?"

He got a flat response, "Who else can it be? I trust that you trust your own eyes?"

Okay, it was Natsuki. "What are you doing here?"

The girl snorted as she handed a tray of tea over to her employer, "I got vital information and your cell phone was _dead_. I thought I might as well try to do this myself. Obviously _that_ was stupidly redundant."

Right, his phone. He got a really stupid text message from Tamaki. Irritated him so much that he smashed the entire cell phone. But that wasn't really the point; the point was… he sighed and massaged the side of his forehead, berating his assistant in the usual manner, "Couldn't you have tried other ways of contacting me rather than bothering to find this place all by yourself? There is something not right with your brain, isn't there? Can you not sit still at all?"

Natsu sighed and put down the tea.

"I know there's something weird going on with me. I've been thinking about it since I was assigned the task to lie. It simply doesn't seem natural that I don't complain and volunteer to do things, right?"

To Kyouya's surprise, she smiled.

"But, I guess it's because I got used to it. All that slavery and helping out and the craziness of the Host Club… pretty crazy, but I have to admit – fun. A lot of fun. I guess I… forget certain things. I guess I don't mind being a helper after all, no matter how much I despised my mother for being such an obedient one. It seems as if it's in my genes. And I got used to being bossed around by you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but…"

She bit her bottom lip and paused pensively, searching for the right words.

"It's kind of… weird without you commanding me what to do. See, it's not that I'm enlightened by your presence or anything, but I feel like too much of a helper to be able to come up with schemes of my own. That's all."

"Is that so?" Kyouya took a sip at his tea to hide a smirk that was forming. _The tea is perfectly perfect as always._ "I'll take that for now then. And by the way, nice attire." He scanned briefly over the skirt and slurred coyly, "Looks familiar to me."

"Courtesy of Haruhi." Natsu snorted, "I would never have chosen to wear this on my own – don't you tell that to Fuyumi-nee-san though. Ah, Grantaine-san!"

Anne-Sophie Grantaine entered, smiling, Hachibee trotting right behind her as she swiftly placed a seemingly heavy basketful of potatoes down at a corner, "Well, you young man there seems to be awake." Turning to a shocked Kyouya, she teased, "Don't you know it's bad to sleep on roadsides? You gave your cute friend over here quite a bit of trouble."

Kyouya cast a glance towards Natsu, who simply snorted, "Did you gain weight or something, Kyouya-senpai? You almost tipped me over completely."

"What a way to foil my gratitude," He too snorted dryly, at the same time wondering – _isn't Grantaine-san in France due to her ill health? Then why could she carry big baskets of potatoes around with no trouble?_

Both intruders were startled by the sudden bombardment of questions by this typical French woman, "Do you both have a kotatsu in your houses? What's interesting about Kyoto? I want to know _all_ about Japan from someone different!"

"Eh?" Both the employer and the assistant backed off, startled, the former developing a serious sense of déjà vu.

"Come on!" Anne-Sophie beamed, an affectionate light giving off from her face as she signaled the two to proceed towards the kitchen, "Let's have a long discussion!"

* * *

"I see…"

The woman hung her head in dejection.

"So Kyoto is not at _all_ what I expected! And here I was thinking that… sigh…"

Kyouya and Natsu exchanged glances, pressing back the black lines that would seriously plague all over the faces. Yep, that explains it – having both of his parents be so dramatic, it didn't seem so strange to have a dramatic Tamaki in the Host Club.

"Well, it seems that you're rather happy living here," Diverting the topic, Natsu smiled and pointed out, "With such a frail body, you're doing field work! That's unbelievable."

Kyouya had told her to pretend to not know Tamaki. She hoped that bringing that up wouldn't bring any suspicions.

"That's because I came here." Anne-Sophie nodded and answered, "My health certainly wasn't good before. Because of that I had to separate from someone very important to me." An inexplicable darkness clouded her face for a brief moment, and then it was gone. "A suiting price for someone who's sold her son for support and money.

"But my health improved, since I always wanted to be surrounded by nature." Almost instantly, a smile was back on her face, "From time to time I have a housekeeper tending the work for me, but generally it's been a really independent time for me! Besides, my father is trying to get our company back on track. Things are definitely turning towards the good side for me. It's just that I can't sleep. I can't contact my son directly, but…" she stared into an empty space in front of her and smiled again, "I'm glad I'm able to know that he's doing quite well."

Natsu lowered her head, a puny sigh escaping from her mouth.

To that, Anne-Sophie only laughed, "Come now, it's not _that _much of a sad story; tell you what, I think you must be hungry. Now if you'll excuse me for a bit, I'll go prepare some dessert and you can take your mind off of whatever you found sad!"

"…Oh, okay. Thanks."

As Anne-Sophie proceeded to do that, Kyouya whispered in alert to his assistant, "Something's not right."

"You mean the part where Chairman Suoh is not doing anything to prevent this separation, even though he could?" Natsu probed, wondering the same question.

The two stayed silent. There was too much on the mind to continue conversing. Besides… they were hungry.

* * *

"Thank you for helping my friend again," Bowing at the smiling French woman, Natsu uttered sincerely, "And for the breakfast. You're a real lifesaver."

"Oh, not a problem." Anne-Sophie waved nonchalantly, "On the other hand however, I'm sorry for making you listen to a boring story. When are you leaving for Japan?"

Kyouya replied, "Tomorrow's flight."

"I see. Have a safe trip. Oh, before I forget," The woman searched in her pockets before finally pulling out a random miniature of a bowl of Ramen and stuffed it in Natsu's hand, "A little gift."

Natsu, totally amused by the ridiculous miniature, pressed back her laughter and politely replied, "Thank you, but - "

"No buts," Anne-Sophie smiled and patted Natsu on the head, "You decide what to do with it. It's what my son has always wanted." With that she winked at Natsu, sending the latter a shiver down the spine – the shiver that she always gets her when her lies were seen through.

Kyouya opened his mouth again as his eyes darkened.

"This may sound rude, but… don't you feel resentful to have to separate from your son?"

Anne-Sophie paused. It wasn't a pensive pause. It was a pause that somehow showed that she was sure of what she was saying.

"No. I want to believe in him. And besides,"

She smiled and glanced airily towards the sky,

"He is the person I chose for myself."

Kyouya froze. There was something that doubtlessly reminded him of Tamaki.

Suddenly, he chuckled and waved goodbye. "Thank you. It's very nice to meet you. You are…" he paused in search of an adjective, but gave up as he used an entire phrase instead, "… You are very similar to my best friend."

Grabbing Natsu's arm, and waving one last time at the smiling woman, he walked away, satisfied, glad that this trip and search has not become a waste.

* * *

"Do you think she knew who we were?"

Kyouya blinked at Natsu's random outburst, "What makes you think that?"

Natsu twiddled with the Ramen miniature and stared, before sighing, "Never mind."

Kyouya observed fixatedly at his assistant's face, "…You look tired. Something on your mind?"

He was rather startled when her hand pulled timidly, like a little child's, at his sleeve.

"I'm just confused. I… I envy Anne-Sophie-san, but at the same time I feel so sorry for her." She sighed, her eyes lingering airily on the chopsticks on the Ramen bowl. "Once in a while I feel so alone and I'd wonder if I'd ever find someone to lean on. I'm glad Anne-Sophie-san found one, but…"

Kyouya felt her fingers tighten around his wrist.

"It's painful enough to not have found anyone to lean on, but to have found one and not be able to be with him…" The girl shook her head, her other hand putting the miniature back into her pocket,

"Isn't that… a thousand times more painful?"

For a while, both of them remained silent. Again, there was no sound but the gentle rustling of wind and leaves – until Natsu realized the whereabouts of her hand. She yelped and retreated it in embarrassment, "Sorry."

Kyouya shook his head as he chuckled and patted her head.

He had to admit that he agreed with her, but, for her to have clutched so tightly on his wrist…

_She is _such_ a child._

"HEY – what's _that _supposed to mean? You know how much I loathe being patted on the head!"

"Nothing. Well, where are you going to go for the rest of the day?" By then, they have reached Kyouya's limo, and the said demon lord questioned his assistant, a rare and strange concern on his face. "Let me remind you – you have an entire afternoon of _free time_."

Natsu snickered, "You look worried. Well, don't. Paris is huge. I'll have plenty of places to look around. Why, just looking at the Louvre would take me an entire afternoon!"

Kyouya snorted and remarked in wary, "You are _not _going to wander in this city _alone_ for an entire afternoon."

The girl snorted back, "What would you do? Get one of your bodyguards to escort me? Sorry, not my idea of free time."

"Look, I can't let anything happen to my assistant. What am I going to do with all my work if you get abducted?"

"What makes you think I'll get abducted? What's wrong with _you_? We really have both changed a _lot_, haven't we?"

At that Kyouya chose to remain silent.

"Well, if you _reeeeeally_ want to know where I would be, I'll probably be on one of the seats in _Le Procope_(2) and just reading some random magazine." Natsu sighed and shrugged as a smile of reminiscence climbed up the corner of her lips, "It was my favourite place when I was studying here… the window seats, especially."

Kyouya glared at his assistant before he, too, sighed, "Fine. Need a ride?"

"Nah!" The girl laughed and slapped playfully at her employer's shoulder, a thing she would _never_ have done a couple of months ago. She made a face at him, and, before he could seize her, she began to run down the path, clearly eager to retrieve her memories as an exchange student as she waved cheerfully back and yelled, "See you at school, Kyouya-senpai!"

"Natsuki - " Kyouya called in vain at her back, and when she vanished down the path he sighed. "…Hectic girl."

Then he realized something. He was in Paris, the city of romance. _They_ were in Paris, the city of romance. And there were no other meddling Host Club members hanging around.

He smirked as he entered his limo and instructed his driver to return to the hotel.

* * *

(1): This, being a French name, has the first name coming first as opposed to all other names that have appeared so far in this story XD.

(2): _Le Procope_ is the oldest restaurant in Paris, I think.

_

* * *

_**Yue: **The next chapter comes _the_ romantic moments of the fic (I think!)! If you liked this one, make sure you stay tuned for the next one XDD.  
Nyu, so a **review **right now would be really nice, am I not right?


	15. Parallel feelings

**Disclaimer: **I own Ouran. HAHAHAHAHA…

**Yue: **Finally, the chapter! Sorry for leaving this for so long, but this was wayyyy too hard to write. I hope you won't be disappointed TT! On a more random note, you must all listen to Caramelldansen because it's too awesome XD!  
Some** manga plot spoilers** in this chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I love you all XD!

* * *

Luxury 15 – Parallel feelings

Haruhi was vexed.

Scratch that. She was extremely, utterly and indescribably vexed.

Both Kyouya and Natsu, who have _promised_ to keep in touch, seem to have been wiped off of the face of the Earth. When Haruhi last tried calling their cell phones, she realized that Natsu's did not function internationally, and that Kyouya's was very much dead. They seemed to have taken the matter of Tamaki's mother into their own hands, thinking that a worried Haruhi did not really matter. Haruhi shook in exasperation. She wanted to know, for Christ's sake!

She looked about wildly in front of her apartment, for she really had nothing better to do. She decided firmly that she would phone again, for she really _was_ dying to know. She nearly sang in happiness as she heard a _normal tone_ for once, instead of the repetitive voice of the operator. She was even happier when she heard Kyouya's voice. "Hello?"

"Kyouya-senpai!" she exclaimed, for the first time thinking of Kyouya as the greatest saint there is. "It's Haruhi."

"Ah, Haruhi," the Shadow King's voice sounded impassive, "What's your business?"

"I'm calling to ask about Tamaki-senpai - "

"Tamaki has diarrhea," replied Kyouya dryly and bluntly. Haruhi froze. Then she raised her eyebrows. "…Diarrhea?"

"Diarrhea. He hasn't been able to leave the hotel."

Haruhi was about to express her disappointment and sympathy when some eerie figure caught her eye. She stared. Then she squinted. Then she squinted more. When at last her gaze met the figure's, she trembled in incredulity.

"Um, Kyouya-senpai, there's that person who's supposed to have _diarrhea_, right in front my apartment and my very own _eyes_."

"What?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow, before a sigh escaped his mouth. Tamaki was way stupider than he had ever thought him to be. He searched his brain for the quickest lie. "Yeah, right, he was making too much of a mess, so I urged him to return to Japan. Have fun dealing with him. Goodbye."

Haruhi winced at the suddenness and the unexpectedness of the turnout. "But wait, Kyouya-senpai - "

Too late. Kyouya had already hung up and nothing but rapid beeps answered her.

Haruhi turned mechanically to the eerie figure – Tamaki. A pause. Then she said the first thing which popped into her mind. "Well… is your stomach okay…?"

Tamaki's face twitched considerably, "I'm fairly okay…"

"What? But Kyouya-senpai said you have diarrhea -"

"What? Kyouya has diarrhea?"

The two looked at each other confusedly before bursting out simultaneously,

"WHAT?"

* * *

When Kyouya clicked his cell phone shut he abused Tamaki's stupidity. He had at least told Tamaki _five_ times to not risk loitering in places where he could get discovered. Then the said idiot goes and loiters about Haruhi's apartment. He really never listens. Kyouya sighed once more. Then he was relieved that it was Haruhi, and not the twins, who discovered the stupid king. Perhaps there'd be some interesting development between them. While they have fun sorting that out, Kyouya decided that it was about time to improve his _own_ relationship a bit. He smirked as he entered his limo and told his driver, "Le Procope."

So let us skip about thirty minutes of meaningless time, and imagine Natsu's surprise when she was reading and drinking coffee so peacefully then all of a sudden have Kyouya's face loom into her view. She jumped out of her chair and, to Kyouya's dismay, screamed.

Kyouya scowled in disapproval, "That's not a polite and warmhearted welcome, Natsuki."

"W-W-W-What are you doing here?" The poor assistant pointed rudely at his nose as she stammered in utter confusion and terror, "You didn't actually _mean_ it when you said I'm not going to wander alone in Paris for today, did you? You're not actually here to _chaperone_ me or anything, right? You're leaving in about a minute, riiiight?"

"Chaperone?" the Shadow King raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "Your diction needs to be improved, Natsuki. And no, I'm _not_ leaving in about a minute. I scheduled all the Ouran students to a sappy romance movie marathon and they'd be occupied for the rest of the day."

Natsu squinted her eyes in suspicion, "So why aren't _you_ also drowning in sappy romance movies for the rest of the day like they are, and insist on coming here and disturbing my perfect peace?"

Kyouya lifted his index finger in a lecturing manner, "First of all, I'm not particularly into sappy romance, second of all," a smirk appeared on his face, "I _want_ to spend time with you."

It was a bad decision for Natsu to be drinking coffee right at the moment; after hearing such a shocking declaration, she choked and managed to snort boiling hot coffee right out of her nose. Kyouya stared in utter amusement. The poor assistant ignored all the "the looks" she was receiving and asked, sounding exactly like a strangled baboon, "You _want_ to spend time with me? O, hath the world so deteriorated to such a state that such a treacherous deed could possibly occur! Will all the waters of the great Neptune ocean wash this insanity from the earth - "

"You really are making me regret that thought," Kyouya interrupted her potentially ongoing monologue, ignored her utterly random allusion to _Macbeth_, and added with a lie, "I merely would like to stick around you because if any work springs up, I can readily assign it to you." After all, if she didn't know, there was no need for her to know just yet.

Natsu sighed. Of course, of course. She sensed a tinge of disappointment. Gee, to think she thought he might've meant it. When she spoke again, she sounded even more strangled than before. "So what d'you want now?"

"I want you to go with me and tour Paris, just for the fun of it," Kyouya replied. Natsu seemed horrified at the idea. "What, with _you_? You're going to buy new furnishes for the Host Club and make _me_ carry them – I can _feel_ it."

"Either way, you are getting your behind out of this place. As nice as it is, I would like to make sure you know that there are many other nicer places around." Kyouya rudely lifted his poor assistant out of her seat and promptly readied themselves for departure. When Natsu spotted Kyouya's limo waiting obediently at the entrance of the café, she was even more terrified.

This is going to be a _long_ afternoon.

* * *

While the sun was not yet about to go down in Paris, it was quite dark in Japan. It was in this eerie darkness that Haruhi grumpily opened the door to her apartment and showed Tamaki in. The latter, as he entered, peeked nervously at Haruhi, feeling totally sheepish. He was well aware that Haruhi was not quite happy with him. He watched as Haruhi began to boil some hydrogen hydroxide (aka water), and tried in vain to start a conversation.

A conversation could only be started after the hydrogen hydroxide was fully boiled, since Haruhi was obliged to urge Tamaki to drink some warm gruel and sooth his supposedly in pain stomach. Tamaki peeked sheepishly at her amidst sips of the extremely watery gruel, and at last managed to mutter like a child who was caught wandering off after his bedtime, "Haruhi, are you mad at me?"

An impassive "Not really" answered him. It did not convince Tamaki. "Well then, why are you pouting and all gloomy, Haruhi? You're definitely mad at me!"

A pause. Haruhi did not seem to hear him, as she simply began, in the same impassive tone, "I study and study, and yet all I gain is IQ. When it comes to EQ, I'm utterly deficient. I can't probe into other people's feelings, and I can't pacify my friends when they're having a fight."

Her voice became increasingly agitated.

"I realize that Tamaki-senpai did not go to France because of your mother, but what should I do? Should I insist that you tell me, comfort you, or get angry because you hid it from me, or should I be sad?" She clenched her fists, her eyes shining with panic.

Tamaki was at a loss of words as he merely stared in dumb stupefaction.

It was then that Haruhi's voice cracked, "I'm confused, Tamaki-senpai – should I tell you that I'm worried or -"

It vexed Tamaki to see Haruhi so distressed. Without thinking he lifted himself up from where he was sitting and called her name, only to tip over the bowl of _hot_ gruel and spill it all on him.

As a result, Haruhi's distress was forgotten as it was replaced by utter disorder in trying to make sure her senpai was not hurt and to find another set of attire for him. Tamaki watched the disorder in pensive silence and, as Haruhi prepared to go fetch more ice, surprised her with a bear hug.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. I'm sorry for hiding it from you."

Haruhi felt her heartbeat quicken. She did not look back nor respond. She merely listened.

"It's just that – I don't want to see sorrow on others' faces because of me.

- I could only enjoy myself best when everybody has a smile on their faces."

* * *

"Kyouya-senpai -"

Natsu sighed as she wobbled out of the Louvre tiredly. They had been in there for a while, admiring the exquisiteness of various arts displayed. There, Natsu found more in common between herself and her employer. She found that they had rather similar tastes too in art and architecture. They seemed to have endless topics to discuss of, and _fun_ topics too that were thoroughly enjoyed by them both. Yet while in the Louvre, she was suddenly struck with the fact that she had found someone to whom she could relate in too many aspects, and struck for the first time with the idea that she had made a precious acquaintance. She was beginning to value their acquaintance greatly – but she had to admit, while she enjoyed their time together, she was dead tired.

"I'm beat! We've been wandering in the Louvre for _two hours_. I enjoyed the displays, but I'm close to death now. Can you go back to the Ouran people and leave me alone now? I'd like to go back to my hotel and sleep, since I've only gotten four hours of sleep last night!"

Kyouya was not about to let up so easily as he simply replied flatly, "You have no right to complain of lack of sleep to _me_. For all you know, _I_ acquired at most one hour of sleep in the last 24 hours."

"So you should be even more tired than I am!"

"I am."

"Then let's be merry and both go to rest."

Kyouya ruffled his assistant's hair playfully, ignoring her protest, "But I won't be merry if I were to leave just like this. It's rare that I get to tour Paris with someone to whom I could actually talk with a decent amount of intelligence. Besides, I have yet to take you to Faubourg Saint-Honoré so that you can buy yourself some more decent clothes, bags, or other materials of the sort. I find it interesting that _I'm_ the one telling you that, Natsuki."

"What! But Kyouya-senpai, you know that fashion is my worst nightmare! You might as well kill me, senpai!"

"Then we'll go for food. I'm surprised you're not yet hungry, Natsuki."

As if on cue, Natsu's stomach grumbled, causing her to lose her dignity and sigh. Right, she was hungry too. That needed to be taken care of first.

Kyouya merely smirked.

"Then off we go to Pierre Gagnaire (1)."

* * *

Haruhi stared at her senpai with a small smile on the face.

For the past hour or so, he'd be telling her a story. It was a story about a boy who was concerned for his mother's health. When he found out that the best remedy for her mother is called his own smile, he had decided to smile everyday, every hour, every minute, for the sake of the smile on his mother's face. Then the boy made a decision. He decided that he'd make everyone smile. It became his dream, and he'd do anything to fulfill it. Then he found out that the road he was destined for – business – was a ruthless path. There were no sympathies or kindness allowed. So he began to see this road as a challenge – as a test for himself, in his own words, for the true strength of his dream.

_It was for the sake of only one person's smile, but it escalated into something of a much larger magnitude._

Haruhi had always thought Tamaki was excessively childish. Only then had she realized how terribly wrong she was.

She was almost about to take back that thought when Tamaki's eyes suddenly swelled up and he pouted in wonder, "But Haruhi, I just said all that so suddenly – isn't that weird?"

Haruhi's smile widened as she watched his eyes shine eerily like Hunny's whenever Hunny wanted sweets.

"No, it's not at all weird." She concluded firmly, "After all, for what reason does the Host Club exist?

- For so long you made a lot of people smile."

It was the night on which Fujioka Haruhi finally understood Suoh Tamaki.

* * *

"And why…"

Natsu groaned, void of strength, staring lazily at the _Eiffel Tower_,

"…are we here?"

A smirking Kyouya pointed out beside her, "Since we're in Paris, we might as well make the most of it. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't seen a Parisian night atop the Eiffel Tower in about three years. It might be a while before you get the chance to come back again, you know."

Natsu was about to rebuke when something suddenly seized her. She paused to find the right words, and then looked up at Kyouya's shining lenses and declared softly, "Kyouya-senpai, you're so… unusual today."

"Oh?" She got an oily response from the demon lord. "In what way?"

"Well, for one thing," Natsu waved her arms hysterically, as if she had seen the singularity of a black hole with her very own eyes, "You keep talking about _me_. Wherever we went, you always tell me that it'll benefit _me_ if I go there. I'm your _assistant_, Kyouya-senpai! You shouldn't be thinking about _me_ when you decide to go somewhere, and yet you were. Senpai, am I hallucinating or is something really _wrong_ with you?"

Kyouya stared incredulously at her, awed by her innocent outspokenness.

_She really is clueless._

As he continued to observe her bewildered expressions, sentiments suddenly swelled inside his chest. He began to realize that he had waded so deep in this pool of feelings, had seen so much of himself in her, had revealed so much to her, and had indulged so much on her presence that he could no longer bring himself to look at her without stirring up tender affection.

He had fallen too deeply into _the_ abyss, long past the point of no return.

_I love you, Natsuki, and yet you have no idea._

His smirk resolved into an earnest smile as he gave her another pat on the head.

"I'll give you a clue when we're on the third floor of the Eiffel Tower."

Before his assistant had the chance to inquire some more, he dragged her towards the lift on the ground floor. They took a pause in the second floor, admiring the gradually livelier nightlife of Paris that they could cast eyes on. While Natsu was looking through the window with reminiscence, Kyouya purchased a large rose from the closest flower seller. Natsu, too entangled in her own reminiscence, failed to notice the rose as they entered the lift for the third floor. Kyouya was relieved; he did not want to deliver the flower too early. In silence, they arrived at the third floor. Barely had they stepped out of the lift when the sky was suddenly lit up with gorgeous fireworks.

"Wow!" the assistant sighed dreamily as a lovely smile made its way to her lips. "It _has_ been a while, indeed…"

The fireworks continued to spark and decorate the dark sky. Everyone on the third floor stayed close to their relatives, friends, or lovers, and smiled wistfully at the fireworks, admiring its exquisiteness. Natsu laughed as she eagerly dragged Kyouya to the edge of the platform for a closer look.

"It's beautiful, senpai."

When she did not hear a response from him, she was confused and turned to look. But before she could make a full turn, an arm encircled her waist, and she felt a foreign object come in contact with her left ear. It did not take her long to realize that the object was in fact Kyouya's lips. Her heart began beating wildly, without her knowing why.

The embrace was brief. When Kyouya let go, he saw that his assistant was about to grumpily open her mouth and inquire the reason for it. He silenced her amusedly and held out the rose to her. She reacted by widening her eyes in disbelief.

"A gift," he said, "to thank you for all you've done for me over the past many months. Natsuki, I can't tell you how much it meant to me. For a long time I was wrapped up in my stress, tirelessly trying to sort my way through the nonsensical turmoil I was in with no one to support me. Then you came along. I loathed you at first, Natsuki. I was trying to make your life harder by the minute, and yet you only complied – I know it was partly, if not mostly the auction account, but I was amazed by how obedient you were. No, that is not meant as an offense, Natsuki. Like I said, you actually made my life a thousand times easier. Then more things happened, which I would rather not talk about under such lovely Parisian moonlight; but I began to find out just how much we have in common. Perhaps you noticed it too, Natsuki – we began to understand each other. You have no idea how important it is to have someone to relate to, someone to discuss with and even someone to rant to. So thank you, Natsuki, just for being there for me. You'll always be my one and favourite assistant."

Natsu blinked at the flower, and then at Kyouya. Her bewilderment resolved into a radiant smile as she promptly accept the rose with a chuckle.

"So you _do_ have gratitude in you after all, Kyouya-senpai!"

They laughed heartily in sync as fireworks proceeded to cover a major portion of the visible sky.

* * *

Tamaki exited Haruhi's door, refusing to let the latter to walk further with him. "I'll be pondering over what we've been talking about, Haruhi," he promised, with his ever-so-Tamaki smile on his face.

Haruhi nodded and handed him a bag, "Here's some gruel left from earlier, and some rice cakes I made earlier in the day. You said your cook was on holiday, so if you don't mind…"

Tamaki's stare softened as he accepted the bag and, with a sincere smile, gave Haruhi a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, Haruhi."

With that and some extra rambles telling her to closer her door properly, he left. Haruhi's hand remained at the spot which his lips made contact with, and watched him gradually walk out of her sight. Some details of the past few hours flashed in her head, and her heartbeat quickened with the memory.

Suddenly, her face was overcome with an overwhelming flush.

"But what am I thinking…" she shook her head fiercely, but was unable to shake the red off of her face.

* * *

"You can stop here," Kyouya instructed his driver as they stopped at the corner of Natsu's hotel. Natsu exited the car and was about to thank her employer before she realized that he exited with her.

"I'll walk you to the gate of your hotel," he proposed. Natsu winced with a raised eyebrow, "Thanks, but not necessary. You're being scarily kind today, senpai."

Kyouya responded with a smirk, "I happen to enjoy being kind today."

Natsu sighed and knew that objection was futile.

They briefly exchanged some discussions of the food quality in Pierre Gagnaire before they arrived at their intended destination. "Well, this is it." Kyouya concluded as he smiled and gave Natsu a kiss on the forehead, "See you at school, Natsuki."

With that and an amiable wave, he walked back towards his limo. Natsu remained rooted to the ground, her hands clutching tightly onto her rose. Scenes from the past few hours flashed in her mind, and her heartbeat quickened with every memory.

Suddenly, her face was overcome with an overwhelming flush.

"But what am I thinking…" she shook her head fiercely as she looked down at her rose, "I'm only his assistant."

She could not, however, force the red to recede from her face.

* * *

"Tamaki-senpai, this is for you." Natsu, on the first day she was back in Ouran, hastened to hand Tamaki her Ramen miniature. Tamaki accepted it and stared at it like he'd never seen anything so exquisite in his life. "A Ramen miniature? Sister Natsu, where did you get this?"

Natsu smiled at the king's evident fascination and began nonchalantly, "I believe Kyouya-senpai received it from a blond woman in France."

Tamaki raised his head in surprise. The sentence managed to also catch the full attention of the rest of the club.

Kyouya continued with a shrug, "She had a dog who looked like Antoinette. She told me that her dog had siblings in Japan. She lives with this dog and her family. She thinks daily of her son whom she was separated from."

It was the simplest story ever told in the Host Club. And yet it was so fascinating that everyone listened. Silently.

Hunny was the first one to speak. "Was she beautiful?"

Kyouya could not help but smile. "Yes, very."

"And," The club members turned their heads to Haruhi, who had a slight blush on the face as she asked eagerly, "Was she doing well?"

Kyouya's smile only widened. "Yes. She is very happy. She wishes that her son in Japan is living happily, too."

There was a very long pause. A response came from Tamaki, and it consisted of only two words,

"I see."

Incidentally, on that day, Suoh Tamaki uttered a final decision to his father. Changes began to take place, and it did not take long for Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki to meet her share.

* * *

(1): _Pierre Gagnaire_, near Champs-Élysées, is Michelin 3-star, the 3rd best restaurant in the world as of 2007, and apparently the best restaurant in France. I wish I could go there.

* * *

**Yue: **Changes begin now. Turmoil shall set in. Lives will turn upside down. Oh no.  
And now, if you will kindly **review**, I shall love you and give you cookies :D!


	16. Changes

**Disclaimer: **I own Ouran. That's so totally why Akazawa Natsu is _not_ in there.

**Yue: **OMGWTFBBQ I WROTE A KISS SCENE…  
Yeah, that's very unusual for me. But it happened! In this fic XD! In this _chapter_ XD! Have fun with it.  
We're nearing the climax and subsequently the end. It'll stay a pretty exciting ride (I hope)! And yes, some more reviews would be real nice ;D!

Thanks to **crizarah** and **SoundzofSilence;** you actually _do_ make my insides wiggle like beloved monkeys :D.

* * *

Luxury 16 – Changes

As soon as the France ordeal was done with, Hunny smelled oddity in the air.

For two things, Haruhi seemed to refuse to look at Tamaki in the face, and Natsu became increasingly quiet whenever she was around Kyouya.

Hunny was sure that he wasn't the only one who noticed. As much as Mori always seemed impassive, he'd cast concerned glances to the girls whenever they weren't looking. The twins seemed to whisper to themselves more when the girls were in sight, and Kyouya would steal glances at them while scribbling in his notebook, looking at Haruhi with a smirk and Natsu with a baffled scowl. As usual, the only one who was clueless was Tamaki, looking about wildly and wondering why his daughter seemed to decline to look at him, and why his sister was so unusually quiet when around Kyouya.

But while everyone seemed to pay attention to the girls, Hunny was almost positive that he was the only one who knew Natsu's problem. Certainly, she has finally realized her special attachment to Kyouya – anyone with _eyes_ (except for Tamaki and perhaps Haruhi, since she was too engrossed in her _own_ problem) could see that – but for a straightforward girl like her to be evading him after realizing her true feelings – it could only be _that_.

Hunny sighed inwardly. He was defeated by Kyouya – the demon lord shared too much with Natsu – which made him quite sour, but he cared too much for Natsu to remain a spectator while the said assistant drowns in her own stupidity. So Hunny made a decision. If Kyouya was not about to tell Natsu anytime soon, Hunny would do it for him. It may not lift the poor girl out of her apparent misery, but it'd give her something to seriously dwell on.

When Hunny has a plan, Hunny immediately gets going and works it. So it was not long before a clueless Natsu was being dragged by her favourite senpai towards the restaurant in which they once ate jelly together. Before the poor girl could yet register what was going on, she was staring at a plate of jelly.

"Um, Hunny-senpai," she asked dubiously, "You could've given me a chance to _answer _before you started dragging me – it's not that I'd say no or anything, but this is way too sudden."

Hunny beamed as he delivered a forkful of jelly into his mouth, "Well, I wanna talk to Na-chan in private."

Natsu scanned around. Yep, this was pretty _private_ – they were sitting in the most hidden corner of the restaurant. "So what is it? Have my cake truffles degraded in quality that you need to take the trouble to privately inform me?"

"No," Hunny smiled and shrugged cheerily, "I just wanna tell you that I love you."

"Aww, isn't that sweet, Hunny-senpai? Don't worry, I love you too."

Hunny slapped his forehead. How could this girl be _in love_ and _still_ be so dense? He hastened to clarify, not wanting this session to go wrong, "Nonono, not _that_ kind of love. Like, _that_ kind of love."

Natsu put an index finger to her chin and mused for a good five minutes before the true meaning finally seized her. "OH!"

The poor girl began waving her arms in hysterics, pointing at Hunny and then at herself, her jaw dropping in utter disbelief, her face managing to change colours for multitudinous times. It was when Hunny burst out laughing that she finally stopped with all her antics. A wave of guilt suddenly seized her, as she quieted down and stared into her jelly with a melancholy that caused Hunny to pause his laughter.

"Hunny-senpai, will you be angry if I tell you that I don't feel the same way? I mean, I do like you a _lot_, and you'll always be my favourite senpai, but I just don't feel _that_ way about you, you know -"

"I know, I know," To her surprise, Hunny answered with an upbeat smile. "I'm not angry. I'm very aware that you've somehow fallen in love with Kyo-chan."

Natsu's eyes widened in incredulity. But this time it was her turn to surprise Hunny, for instead of blushing and springing up and denying madly like any other ordinary girl would've done, she merely stared with increasing melancholy into her jelly. "I've become that obvious, huh?"

Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a Tooyama Natsuki, is not a normal girl. She feels what she feels, and she admits it directly to whomever she trusts. There are no shields around her. She is very susceptible.

The reaction left Hunny with a brief moment of brain blank-out, as the grin on his face receded. There was a pause, but Hunny was determined to pull out the root of Natsu's problem. "Na-chan, I love you a lot. I want to always receive cake truffles from you and always see smiles on your faces. But while I love you a lot, Kyo-chan loves you infinitely more. It's stupid of you to think otherwise, Na-chan. Your problem has always been a severe inferiority complex, no matter how hard you try to deny it. You call yourself a fashion disaster, you firmly believe that you're absolutely _no_ different from a commoner when that's totally false, and you seem to refuse to take any glories of the successes you've achieved, crediting it to someone relatively less important. I can bet my cakes that you're probably thinking you're only Kyo-chan's assistant, and therefore he probably doesn't love you. That's the weirdest logic I've ever managed to come in contact with. Na-chan, trust me, he does. He's just being his Shadow King self and refusing to tell you just yet."

Natsu stared into her lecturing senpai's eyes with much astonishment. While she had always known that she was easily seen through by Hunny, she didn't know that he had such clear insight into her. She contemplated his words in pensive silence, and at last she spoke.

"Hunny-senpai, it's not just that. I mean, even if he does… have sentiments for me, it's… not going to work. His family company indirectly caused my mother's demise, and I nearly paralyzed the entire company in return - "

"But that's all the past now, ne Na-chan?"

Natsu played with the fork in her hand absentmindedly as she uttered with grim complexions,

"You have no idea how much the past actually means to _some_ people, Hunny-senpai."

Hunny understood only too well, and he merely stared at his favourite kouhai with sympathy. Then he said the only thing to say,

"Have some faith in Kyo-chan, Na-chan."

A bitter smile collected at Natsu's lips.

"Thanks for the hope, Hunny-senpai."

* * *

"_You're in _love_ with Ootori Kyouya-sama?"_

Natsu hastened to pacify the overly hysterical Kahoko, her lovely stepsister who has not made an appearance in a while. "Shh, Kaho, not so loud! Is father not coming by soon? I'll be skinned if he were to hear that."

"Sorry," Kahoko sat down again in incredulity, "But… how?"

"Long story," Natsu responded dryly. "But the basis is that I found out he's not quite so bad as I imagined after all."

At her sister's nonchalant tone, Kahoko stared with a mixture of surprise and awe. "But Nee-sama, your intended engagement - "

"That's what father's talking to me about today, isn't it?" Natsu shrugged, her eyes hardening into the icy ones she'd always possess when she needed to fight some uncomfortable tugging feelings in her heart. "I'm prepared. I'm hoping that the guy does not weigh 300 pounds and is not twice my age. Besides, if the guy is not of a considerable background, I retain the right to refuse."

Kahoko's stare turned sad. The two sisters remained sitting in the foyer in pensive silence, until Tooyama Takaki entered with his wife Tooyama Minako attached on his arm. The latter greeted Kahoko with a smile and seemed to ignore Natsu. Mr. Tooyama tried to overlook the hostile atmosphere as he began, "Kahoko, you may go first with your mother to meet our newest business partner. I want a private word with Natsuki."

Mrs. Tooyama and Kahoko left obediently ahead. Mr. Tooyama turned to his daughter with a perplexed look on his face, and began with a sigh, "Well, well, Natsuki. You will be relieved when you know the identity of your future fiancé. He is of a quite grand background."

Natsu cursed silently for her bad luck. She no longer retained the right to refuse. "In other words, you want to tell me that I'd better not do anything to antagonize him."

"Quite so. If you enlighten him, we will all benefit. He has promised that if he is satisfied with his fiancée, he will aid with Tooyama firm's branching in France and help Tooyama firm achieve world-wide fame, as well as some other… schemes which will later be presented to you."

Natsu's eyes widened in astonishment. Such a man was way more powerful than she had expected! "Then may I be allowed to know his identity?"

Mr. Tooyama nodded, "His name is Jean Larocque - "

"I don't believe it!" The name struck Natsu so much that she nearly screamed, "How did _we_ manage to get into such close contact with _Fondation Larocque_ (1) – the largest medical foundation in France and possibly the world – without letting me know?"

"Your stepmother is very resourceful." Mr. Tooyama replied dryly.

Natsu felt the need to massage the side of her forehead. When she spoke again she sounded tired, "So my intended fiancé is in fact the son of Edouard Larocque, the CEO of Fondation Larocque – this essentially means, marry him or it's death to the Tooyama firm."

Mr. Tooyama nodded grimly, "Quite so."

Silence prevailed. Natsu had to admit that she no longer cared a rap about the wellbeing of the Tooyama firm – but her mother. It was her mother's lifelong goal, to lift the Tooyama firm to the heights of the world, to prove to Tooyama Takaki her abilities. Natsu had to preserve the one thing that truly mattered to her mother.

And then there was Kahoko. What would become of her if the Tooyama firm is destroyed?

There were no other choices. She sighed. She thought she saw a flash of guilt and pity in her father's eyes, but credited it to her imagination.

"Then let's go meet him."

* * *

Jean Larocque was sagged leisurely on the sofa and savouring a cigarette when Mr. Tooyama entered with Natsu. His long, curled blond hair spread over where he was lying. His eyes scanned over Natsu disturbingly, and at last fixated at the whereabouts of her chest. He began with a lethargic slur of fluent Japanese,

"I have to say, Tooyama-san, your daughter is not very sexy."

Natsu tried very hard to drive a stony look away from her face. She wondered if Kyouya were here and happened to have a pistol with him, he would blow out the brains of this impertinent jerk.

"Your stepdaughter is much better, but she seems too young for me. I do have to say that your daughter has exceptional legs, though. And there's something about her air that I like. I like women who put up an independent front. It's always so fun to… _dominate_ them."

Kahoko winced on the side. Natsu squeezed out an unnatural smile as Larocque's eyes continued to swim all over her.

"Well, go on, introduce yourself," he said smugly and nodded at her. She returned a cold curtsey. "Tooyama Natsuki."

Larocque's smirk widened as he tossed what was left of his cigarette into the nearest trash can and sat up. "That's a very brief introduction, Tooyama Natsuki. I must admit that I think you quite interesting already. And you are how old?"

"Sixteen."

"Almost eight years younger than myself. I can hardly believe that such a young girl may possess such a brain as to be able to live happily out of her mansion and manage the most popular auction account on the commoners' web ring. The truth is sometimes astonishing."

Natsu shot a glance at her father. So he's told him _that_ too. And the smug tone of this Larocque – she really didn't like it.

Larocque didn't seem to notice her sudden darkening of aura. "Well, Tooyama Natsuki, congratulations. You will soon be an important figure in Fondation Larocque. I'm sure such a position will suit your brains quite well."

"Pleasure." She nodded and made a concise reply. She did not want to say more.

"Now, now, why don't you sit down. I have quite a few things to discuss with you." Larocque gestured condescendingly at a chair beside the sofa he was slouching on. Natsu obeyed. "Now, I understand that you attend this school called Ouran?"

"Yes."

"I'm very interested in it." Larocque's oily tone quite alarmed Natsu. "I'm intrigued by the luxury of the school. I'm currently negotiating with – what's his name, Suoh? Yeah, Suoh. I'm considering taking over the school."

Natsu's eyes widened in horror and astonishment. Ouran, under the hands of such an obnoxious man! "But Monsieur Larocque, do you not have the entire foundation to cope with? I'm surprised you are able to find leisurely time to manage a Japanese school."

Larocque shrugged and waved his arm dismissively, "What do you think a wife is for, Tooyama Natsuki? Why do you think I'll marry a girl as… underdeveloped as you are, instead of the many babes I can easily set eyes on in France? The foundation will be at _your_ disposal, the moment of my father's passing – if we're married, of course."

Despite Natsu's exceptional self control, she was shaking from anger.

"Are you unhappy, Tooyama Natsuki?" Larocque shot her a sharp glance and smirked. "I thought you'd always had a lust for power – did you not manage to gain full authority of the Tooyama firm once, and very much enjoyed your time with it? That reminds me. Tooyama-san, tell her."

Mr. Tooyama nodded obediently. "Natsuki, Monsieur Larocque is considering becoming our primary trading partner."

"What!" Without thinking, Natsu burst in further horror, "What about the Ootori firm?"

Mr. Tooyama raised an eyebrow. "Why Natsuki, I'm quite surprised. Since when do you care for the wellbeing of the Ootori firm?"

Natsu remained silent.

Larocque laughed, so shrilly that Natsu winced. "I'm sure, Tooyama Natsuki, that you'll be happy to hear that I'm not quite compatible with that old man Ootori Yoshio and especially bothered by his iffy third son Ootori Kyouya. I loathe his eyes. Once the connection between us is established, I will make sure the Ootori firm is paralyzed for good."

Natsu's head snapped up. She could no longer stand his obnoxiousness as she hissed in desperation, "That's ridiculous! Just because you don't get along with Ootori Yoshio? For your information, I spend time everyday with Ootori Kyouya and I find his eyes quite normal, and more comforting to me than _your_ abnormally blue ones. And what about everyone who works under them, all the employees and their families? You're willing to let them all wade in hunger and desperation because you _don't_ _like the appearances_ of their higher-ups?"

Mr. Tooyama was increasingly astonished by such a strong protest, and Kahoko, in an attempt to hide her tears, looked down.

"Now Natsuki, you quite surprise me," attempting to break the intensity in the air, Mr. Tooyama began softly, "Had it not been you who loathed the Ootori firm to every nerve? I would think you'd be quite happy if it were to be destroyed."

Natsu realized that she had overdone it and cleared her throat. "It's not about the Ootori firm. It's about Monsieur Larocque's… unusual reason."

"You will soon learn, Tooyama Natsuki, that a wife needs to be in full support of her husband." Larocque shrugged and stood up lazily. "I'm aware that you are widely known as a boy in Ouran and that you participate regularly in this club called the Host Club. If you do anything to outrage me, not only the Tooyama firm will be doomed, your beloved Host Club will be as well." He walked towards the door, yanked it open and left, but not before throwing a dangerous grin at the paralyzed Natsu and hissing coaxingly,

"It's your decision, Tooyama Natsuki. See you later."

The room remained quiet for a while after Jean Larocque's exit. The first one to break the silence was Mrs. Tooyama, and it was not a pleasant way to break a silence. She grinned smugly and looked pointedly at a frozen Natsu, "Well, Tooyama Natsuki, have I not gotten you a great fiancé?"

Natsu made no effort to reply.

Mr. Tooyama looked uneasily at his wife and then at his daughter. He sighed.

"Natsuki, I don't believe that spending time with Ootori Kyouya has reverted all your hatred for the Ootori firm. Do you not remember what they did to - "

"Please don't talk about that, father," Natsu responded tiredly, "And no, it hasn't."

At least that was what she believed in.

Was it?

Mr. Tooyama did not seem to notice his daughter's reverie. "Good. Go home, Natsuki, and think. This is your chance – your chance to be in control of the largest foundation you'll ever think of being in control of. And the fate of the Tooyama firm is at your hands – if you haven't yet noticed, Monsieur Larocque is… quite a whimsical man."

Natsu stood up robotically and marched to the door. She did not and could not perceive the tears falling from Kahoko's face as the latter observed her stepsister take her leave, numb and baffled.

_Nee-sama…_

* * *

"Everyone!"

While Natsu was away obtaining some supplies for the next day's display, Tamaki declared with utter loudness and forced the entire club to listen.

"I declare that sister Natsu has been acting very weirdly these days! Did you see her _face_? She's always zoning out during her work!"

Hikaru seemed unmoved. "Hasn't she been like that ever since she came back from France?"

"I know, I know!" Tamaki waved impatiently, "But she's even _more so_ these days! I mean, come on. _Anyone_ could see that something is wrong with her! Does anyone actually know the problem? Haruhi, do you?"

Upon meeting Tamaki's eyes, Haruhi blushed and evaded them eagerly. "No."

"Then what about you, Kyouya?"

Kyouya replied flatly, "No."

Hunny gave a worried sigh. He thought that his words had given Natsu hope! He didn't think they'd make her even more depressed than before. Hunny, of course, had no idea of Natsu's recent engagement, or the ongoing negotiation of the ultimate owner of Ouran, or the danger the Host Club is in, or the Ootori firm's eventual fate; he thought the matter was still as simple as love.

Kaoru suddenly lit up, "I have an idea. How about we throw her a party?"

Hikaru lit up too. "I like that idea! We haven't had a random party in ages."

Hunny blinked. A party just _might_ be what Natsu needed. He laughed in agreement, "I agree! I think Na-chan needs a party." Mori, then, agreed instantly. Tamaki complimented Kaoru's brilliance. Haruhi seemed to have no objection, and Kyouya remained silent.

"Then let's get started _now_! We'll cancel the requests today!" the club king was utterly fired up, "Sister Natsu probably won't be back until after an hour, seeing as she pretty much _just_ left. We should surprise her when she comes back!"

"Milord, that's an idea from you that I actually _like_." Chimed Hikaru.

"Great! Then we now must all dress up as clowns!"

"…Milord, that's an idea from you that I absolutely _loathe_." Chimed Kaoru.

"…"

"Nonono, let's not dress up as clowns, let's dress up as animals!" suggested Hunny, "We could get Haruhi to wear a bunny suit again! Then it'll be like old times!"

"What!" Haruhi protested with horror, "I don't wanna!"

"You have no choice!"

"…"

Kyouya watched the fuss with a smile, before he turned back to his laptop with a concerned scowl. Then he shut it down.

So let us skip about an hour of meaningless mere decorating time, and imagine Natsu's surprise when, as she entered the door saying "I'm back", had confetti thrown upon her, and a very _happy_ Host Club saying in unison to her, "SURPRISE!"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion and looked around. The Third Music Room was as decorated as it could possibly be, and everyone was dressed in medieval costumes. "…Were you guys planning a surprise party for somebody whose birthday is today, and threw all your confetti on the wrong person?"

"Gee, Natsu, you're so boring!" Hikaru complained, "We're _trying_ to surprise you!"

"Yeah, like, what'd you mean by giving us all that face these days?" Kaoru snorted and took over, waggling his index finger in a lecturing manner, "Do you not know how _bad_ it is to worry your peers?"

Natsu's eyes widened.

She did not know what to think when everyone except for Kyouya suddenly swarmed around her, bombarding her with concerned greetings, asking her just what exactly was wrong, wondering why she was so out-of-the-world. Somehow, her eyes met Kyouya's, and she saw that he was smiling sincerely at her. Suddenly, she felt a lump gather at her throat.

She was so lost and confused.

She was engaged to the most obnoxious man on the face of this planet, who threatened to erase the happiness that could exist only in the Host Club, and who would eventually ruin the man she truly loves. And yet what was she doing to stop this folly? Nothing! Did she even loathe the Ootori firm anymore? Didn't she always crave for the power that she was about to receive? Why did it feel so _wrong_ to do nothing all of a sudden? She was not losing profit and she was _benefiting_, for Pete's sake! When did the Host Club become so important to her? Why was she feeling like she truly belonged there, when she distinctly remembered how out of place she was when she first entered? Why did they all care so _damned much _about her? Why were they all asking about her wellbeing like she mattered so much?

_Why were they making her life so much harder for her?_

It was Hunny who noticed first.

"Na-chan, you're crying!"

The friendly inquiries stopped, replaced by an utter silence. The club watched in astonishment as tears ran uncontrollably down Natsu's cheeks. Such silence seemed to last an eternity, until Haruhi first ventured to ask, "Natsu… did we do something to make you unhappy?"

Natsu shook her head fiercely as sobs began to break out of her. Her voice cracked like a child's. "No, I thank you all – I love you all – I… I'm sorry. I… I'll be back when I've sorted out my mess of a mind."

Without warning she sped out of the door into obscurity. Haruhi called out in vain at her back.

"My, it's something _bad_ this time, isn't it?" Hikaru mumbled dubiously, "She's definitely hiding something from us."

The club proceeded to be more astonished when Kyouya walked out of the door and told the club grimly,

"I'm going after her."

* * *

Natsu clung pathetically to a tree and let her tears run. She never knew she had so much tears in her. She thought they'd run dry from the too many things that had happened to her. She didn't think she was so wrong.

But she was a fool. Her ultimate goal was about to be achieved, and yet she was crying. She could not feel a sign of triumph. Instead, she felt as if she was about to lose everything. And the sad fact was that she _was_ about to lose everything – everything that, in the past many months, became so important to her. She had not realized how important they were until now, but it was too late. For the Host Club, for the Tooyama firm, for her mother, and for Kahoko – she could not refuse. She no longer had a _right_ to refuse. She had to deal with the inevitable.

Then what about the Ootori firm? She could do nothing to help it. And not that she wanted to help it, but – she was too confused to dwell too much on that. She was essentially useless.

Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki, loathed being useless.

She twitched in alarm as she heard steps approach her. She hastily wiped away her tears and looked towards the source of the sound. She saw that it was Kyouya, and her rate of heartbeat quickened considerably.

"Natsuki," Kyouya began, but did not seem to know how to go on. Natsu evaded his piercing stare and looked down.

Then it happened so suddenly. She felt a strong pair of arms pull her in violently, and before she had the chance to react a pair of lips were upon hers, kissing her with a passion she could not resist. Her brain seemed to suffer a blackout. She did not and did not want to think, she merely closed her eyes and returned the kiss with equal passion. Before she knew it, she encircled her own arms around Kyouya's neck, and the two remained for a while in their by far closest embrace, forgetting about the rest of the universe.

But somehow and suddenly, Natsu regained her ability to think. Many unfortunate memories suddenly poured down on her, and she realized with horror that she was not even close to being _allowed_ to be in love with Ootori Kyouya. She tried to break loose, but he would not let her. She was so weak, and always utterly defenseless in front of Ootori Kyouya.

When she finally managed to pull away from him, she was flushed and shaking. Her scattered gaze met Kyouya's fixed one, and her trembling voice whimpered pathetically,

"Kyouya-senpai, we can't… I'm engaged to Jean Larocque!"

* * *

(1): Totally fictional XD.

* * *

**Yue: **Heeheehee… the scene continues. I'm gonna hafta leave you hanging there for a bit XD. I know, I'm evil that way.  
I'll update really fast if you'll kindly shower me with some **reviews **;D!


	17. Development

**Disclaimer: **If you still haven't gotten the idea that I don't own Ouran, I don't know what to say.

**Yue: **I'm actually quite impatient to put all the chapters up XDD. Not much to say except to go right ahead and dive in. Lots of plot shall happen.

Kudos to the lovely people who reviewed: **unknown player**, **waterlily777**, **crizarah**, **Melissax3**, and **goldykat** :'D!

* * *

Luxury 17 – Development

"Kyouya-senpai, we can't… I'm engaged to Jean Larocque!"

Natsu cursed herself for having burst out her secret so bluntly. Had her brain not been totally shattered by that sudden and (she had to admit) _exceptional _kiss, she would never have… she glanced in horror at Kyouya, but when she saw his impassive face she was stunned. Kyouya looked at her seemingly indifferently, and yet when he spoke he sounded strangely agitated.

"Natsuki, what makes you think I care?"

She didn't seem to comprehend the question, for she merely continued shaking and stared.

Kyouya's voice began too to show signs of trembling. "I love you, Natsuki, and I'm almost completely certain that you don't feel a thing for that Larocque. If you think back, you'd probably be surprised at how many times I've been trying to tell you I love you. Being _me_, Natsuki, I know how you feel – and yet you, for some odd reason, try to conceal it. Natsuki, you were always the most straightforward girl. I could only credit your concealment to insufficient trust in me. Why are you always so _darned _independent, Natsuki? Why can't you, for _once_, try leaning on someone else?"

Natsu evaded his questioning eyes. "Kyouya-senpai, it's not going to work."

"If that attitude is caused by the past, Natsuki, then I'll tell you everything."

Natsu's head snapped up as she looked into her employer's eyes with surprise. She did not interrupt him, however, when he decided to begin the story.

"The present Mrs. Tooyama is very well acquainted with the CEO of Fondation Larocque. My research has told me that she had once attempted to enter matrimony with Edouard Larocque, but did not succeed. However, she was not brainless enough to break their friendship. So when she set eyes on your father, she began setting out a scheme to crush former Mrs. Tooyama – your mother – because she saw that former Mrs. Tooyama did not have a grand background. So she asked the Ootori firm to carry out the ordeal for her, which you know of, and threatened to paralyze us if we do not obey. Natsuki, need I say any more?"

Kyouya's eyes fixated on Natsu as she lowered her head and sighed. Brilliant. Now she was about to marry into the true cause of her mother's death, and watch in vain as the Ootori firm falls to its clutches. "…No."

She began to hate herself for being so stupid and always so hotheaded.

"Then it's time you give me an answer." Kyouya's voice sounded firm and decisive. Natsu looked at him with melancholy, realizing not for the first time how much she had misjudged him. When she withdrew she sighed again.

"Senpai, do you really need an answer? Do you not already know it?"

"Only too well. I want to hear it coming from your own mouth."

Natsu made a note to herself that Kyouya's penetrating stare was a thousand times more powerful than Hunny's teary one.

But she could not do as he asked. The strings had already completed their binds on her, and she had completed her morph into a puppet. She no longer had the right to a will of her own. The Host Club, Kahoko, her mother and the Tooyama firm – they all meant so much to her. She could do no more to aid the Ootori firm than perhaps to try to persuade Larocque out of his whims. Moreover, she was certain that Kyouya would figure out a way to protect himself, because he was such an able human being. Knowing that was comforting enough to her, and she couldn't ask for more.

She took a deep breath and began, trying to ignore a crowd of ants which seemed to have, at some point in the last few minutes, started gnawing at her heart.

"Kyouya-senpai, I love you – very much – more than any other human being I have ever loved on the face of this planet – but it's impossible between us for too many reasons."

A long, awkward, and frightening silence. Kyouya remained seemingly impassive as he fixated his gaze on his assistant, while Natsu suddenly found the dirt on the ground exceptionally intriguing. It was Kyouya who spoke first with a bitter chuckle.

"So in the end, you refuse to tell me everything."

Natsu's heart skipped a beat. _Could he know…? _She stole a glance at her employer, only to see a tired smile on his face.

"Natsuki, for all these months I've been trying to gain your complete faith, hoping you'll understand that you don't have to endure everything alone. For a while I had the false impression that you have begun to trust me, but today I understand that it was just my imagination. I see that you have no intention to share with me what is truly on your mind. Then I cannot help you, Natsuki, for you do not trust me enough. You will have to sort through your turmoil alone. For the last time, Natsuki, will you tell me?"

Natsu felt tears return to prick the back of her eyes.

"…I can't, Kyouya-senpai."

She didn't want to cause him any more trouble than she already did.

"… I see. So I'll see you around in Host Club." After a prolonged amount of silence, Kyouya finally replied, his glasses reflecting a light that hid his eyes from Natsu's view. Without further words he began to move away from her, walking back to the Host Club without once looking back. Tears fell once again from Natsu's eyes, even more uncontrollably than before, as she merely leaned pathetically on the tree behind her, mumbling repeatedly and grimly,

"I'm sorry, Kyouya-senpai…"

* * *

Kaoru sighed in utter distress,

"Talk about an epic fail of a party."

The entire Host Club agreed. The members stared in utter distress at Kyouya, who was in the far left corner of the Third Music Room, and then at Natsu, who was in the far right one. They were positioned at about as mathematically far away from each other as they could be. They even refused to look at each other. Worse off, Kyouya did _not_ order Natsu around like he always did. Something had definitely gone _wrong_ during the party.

Hunny bit on his fork and looked to the one and the other with a dubious scowl. Gee, those two are certainly darker and filled with more teenage angst than he had ever expected… he, of course, had no idea about the many other complicated ordeals that flowed behind the scenes; he merely thought the matter was still as simple as love. Because of that, Hunny was very frustrated and decided to openly abuse his kouhais' stupidity in his own way.

So imagine the Host Club's surprise when Hunny suddenly wailed out of the blue.

"Um, Hunny-senpai?" Hikaru raised his eyebrows in doubt, "…Did you get another cavity?"

Hunny rebuked with great repulsion, "Ew, cavity, no! B-B-B-But Kyo-chan and Na-chan are acting so abnormally and it looks like they fought or something and it makes their senpai so terribly saaaaaaaaaaaaaad! Ne, Takashi?"

Catching Hunny's hint, Mori nodded and proceeded to put on his most sympathized face, only to look no different from usual.

"So Na-chan has to tell me what's wrong, riiiight?" Hunny then turned to Natsu, his eyes shiiiining with tears. "EEP!" The poor assistant backed off and waved her arms hysterically at Hunny, "Hunny-senpai! You _promised_ to never come crying at me again!"

_The Eyes_ continued to stare at her, causing many of her skin cells to die in desperation. The rest of the club watched in amusement with an I'm-totally-out-of-this attitude whenever Natsu turned to them for help. At last, when every hair of her has managed to lift itself up to a vertical stance and every drop of her sweat had run dry, she finally decided to answer with a dramatic clear of her throat and declared with utter solemnity,

**"I'm mad at Kyouya-senpai because he put a _moose_ in my apartment yesterday."**

"PFFT…" the demon lord, once he heard that, could almost choke. Such a lie was so bizarre that not even _he_ could keep a straight face. When the club members' eyes turned to him, surprised by this show of indignity, however, he quickly recollected himself and played along. "Natsuki, it was not a _real_ moose."

"Sure, but it was as good as real! Like, heck, it was _life-sized_. Imagine what I had felt like when I opened my door to heavenly relaxation and all of a sudden seeing a _moose_ standing in the middle of my living room! I bet _you've_ never experienced that!"

"It's not my fault if I have received an unwanted gift from Nee-san. Seeing as she seems to like _you_ quite well, Natsuki, I only found it logical to give that to _you_ instead. Is it not the job of an assistant to dispose of all the unwanted belongings of her employer?"

"But you could've given that to me _without_ previously inflating it, and you could've _informed_ me instead of breaking into my apartment!"

"I enjoy surprising people."

"Kyouya-senpai, that's a _stupid _reason. I could've had a heart attack when I saw that moose! I thought it was actually going to eat me! Do you not know that moose only have two types of emotions: angry and _very angry_?"

"But Natsuki, do you not know that I take quite a lot of pleasure in making you miserable? Besides, a moose is very fun to tamper with."

"Kyouya-senpai, that's even stupider. Look, if I had died, you would've had to arrange a funeral for me and - "

The club watched with utterly dropped jaws at the bickering two, seriously at it. Natsu had a pout on her face and Kyouya a smirk. To everyone's surprise, they seemed as _normal_ as ever. At last, the club was convinced that nothing serious really happened between them, and everyone managed to burst out laughing.

"GAHAHAHA, Kyouya, I can't believe you! You put a _moose_ in sister Natsu's apartment?" Tamaki pointed inelegantly at Kyouya's face and laughed like an idiot. The Shadow King was not amused as he simply panned, "It was better than the time you shoved a gigantic millipede in my room. What was even more intriguing was that when I left it there for amusement and you entered a week later, you yourself got scared and nearly wetted yourself."

The club's laughter paused indignantly as everyone cast a stony look towards Tamaki, who could now cry a river, "Kyouya, you _promised_ to never tell anyone that!"

Kyouya merely smirked as the twins an Haruhi inched away from the poor king in alarm. The king reached in vain at Haruhi and, when he saw that all efforts to get her back at his side was futile, proceeded to sulk at a corner.

"But Kyouya-senpai, how in the world did you get into Natsu's apartment?" Hikaru raised a dubious eyebrow and inquired. Kyouya shrugged, "Resourceful servants."

"Oy, oy," Natsu shuddered. As much as it was just a _lie_, she did _not_ like the sound of that.

Hunny's tears were long gone and he resumed laughing, waving his Bun-Bun around, "So that's it! I thought some broken hearts were involved, but I guess that was a redundant worry, ne Takashi?"

Mori agreed instantly.

Kyouya and Natsu watched as the club returned to enthusiastic babblings and exchanged a glance. A faint smile lit up both of their faces.

_The happiness of the Host Club must be preserved at all costs._

The insanity was about to prevail until Hunny somehow managed to arrive at the location of Kyouya's laptop. Something on the screen caught his eye and he looked carefully with more interest. The interest turned to horror as he screamed, pointing at the screen with a trembling finger. Kyouya sighed. He should've shut it down.

"W-W-Why is Chairman Suoh cutting down the budget for the Host Club?" Hunny asked in distraught. Kyouya knew that he was doomed as soon as that was uttered. "Kyo-chan, why didn't tell us?"

Laughter was totally forgotten about when everyone, including Natsu, crowded in disbelief around the laptop. The Hitachiin twins' jaws dropped in unison, Haruhi's eyes widened, and Tamaki was busy yelling "How could father do this". Natsu massaged the side of her forehead in distress.

_That cursed Larocque!_

"I'm off, guys!" She suddenly declared loudly, causing everyone to stare. "I'll be back in maybe two hours."

Kyouya stared at her running figure with a frown.

* * *

Natsu remained on the chair, glancing impatiently at her watch. Not only was she obliged to _request_ for a meeting with Monsieur Larocque, she was also obliged to wait for thirty minutes because Monsieur Larocque was having a private hair perm and could not possibly see her until he is in the best of appearance. When Larocque finally strode lazily out of his room, Natsu felt as if she could spit fire, but her exceptional self-control restrained her.

"Well, Tooyama Natsuki, hello. I did tell you that we'll see each other again soon."

"Yes," she replied stonily, "I'm intrigued by the fact that the budget of the Host Club seemed to have been drastically cut down by Chairman Suoh. Given that you've been… associating with him lately, would you kindly enlighten me if you happen to know the reason for it?"

Larocque shrugged, "I do happen to know the reason for it. In fact, I _am_ the reason. I'm simply vexed by the fact that there are other men in the world who are more popular than I am, and I don't like seeing girls stupidly cling to them. So I told Suoh to restrict the funding and weaken the insanity. I don't like to see _my_ school drowning in impropriety, Tooyama Natsuki."

Natsu felt an urge to gnaw at his head. "I'm surprised, Monsieur Larocque. I heard that Chairman Suoh does not yield to outside offers quite easily. How did you manage?"

Larocque sagged into the closest sofa and lit up a cigarette. "That's easy. I know a woman in France. She has beautiful, long blond hair and quite a frail body. Her father is trying to get their company back on track with the rest of the world. All I needed to do was to tell Suoh that."

_Anne-Sophie Grantaine!_ Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief. She was dealing with such a hateful man.

"By the way, I'm thinking of getting married next month in June. Your school year will end by then and I can begin launching my full scheme against that stupid Ootori firm." Larocque credited her silence to inability to understand, and casually changed the subject. "What d'you say to that, Tooyama Natsuki?"

"Next month?" She nearly lost her cool composure, "Monsieur Larocque, that might be a bit too soon."

"What, you want to linger in that idiotic Host Club for longer?" Larocque shot her a glare, "I _want_ you to start acquainting yourself with Fondation Larocque. My father's been pretty ill lately and probably won't hold out for much longer. That's what he gets for being an alcoholic. Now remember to work your head off when you're in Fondation Larocque. I can't stand incompetent women in my foundation."

Natsu was shaking in rage. "Monsieur Larocque, is it possible to delay it a bit? I will need some time to prepare myself." As far as she knew, not even saints could find out the situation, think, and derive a plan to protect the Ootori firm in a month. And as far as she knew, Kyouya was quite far from being one of those.

Larocque shrugged, "I could, but then your beloved Host Club would have to be vetoed. I don't like the idea of my future wife sticking there for too long."

Natsu felt the urge to eat him alive.

"Well? Your decision?"

"…Fine. I will marry you next month."

* * *

As the end of the school year approached, Natsu became increasingly sullen. She still put on big grins whenever she was at Host Club, but every soul could see that she zoned out much more than she ever would at the beginning of the year. Because she always put on a cheery front in the Host Club, the club members could not find opportunities to inquire after the matter. They merely stayed as cheerful as ever, so that they could warm up whichever lonely soul in need of salvation.

They were unaware that they had made Natsu feel infinitely worse – for two things, she still hasn't told them that she'd be leaving for France in a few weeks, and she was aware that the happiness will definitely diminish the moment Larocque gets hold of Ouran.

She saw that Kyouya had been typing quite frequently on his laptop these days, and knew that he was up to something. It was the only sight of relief she could set eyes on. She knew that the last thing Kyouya would allow was for ridiculousness to threaten the Host Club, so she felt firm that Kyouya would do something to stop the nonsense.

Such relief greatly diminished when, one week before her set departure, it was announced that Chairman Suoh will hand over Ouran to its new Chairman during the end-of-the-year assembly, which is on the day of Natsu's departure. The club was astonished at the news, as not even Tamaki was informed of this sudden change of Chairman. It was then that Natsu was obliged to release news about Larocque and about her engagement.

"You're _engaged_ to the new Chairman?" The Hitachiins, along with Haruhi, burst in incredulity when Natsu, with an apathetic face, told her tale.

"Actually, I'm supposed to be married to him by the end of next week." She corrected, her voice colder than ever.

"What!" Hunny turned to look exactly like Edvard Munch's _Scream_, "But, but, but, what about Kyo-chan?"

He was shocked when Kyouya replied just as impassively on the side, "I have nothing to say on the subject."

Tamaki seemed to have imaginary flame rising behind him as he spoke with utter passion, "This cannot be! We cannot allow sister Natsu to suffer such ridiculous torture! Club, we must start a mission - "

"Save yourselves the trouble," Natsu sighed tiredly, "It's not going to work. You know how powerful the Fondation Larocque is."

"But that means that Na-chan will be leaving the Host Club for good, ne Takashi?" Hunny clung to Bun-Bun, feeling tears encircle his eyes. Mori retained his stony look and said nothing.

The club was silent for seemingly the longest time, until Natsu shot up in hyperactivity, "Oi, guys, get a grip. I'll be writing. Lots and lots of letters. It's not like I'll be totally wiped away from your lives if I'm not in Japan. Besides, weren't I extremely unwanted upon joining? You should all be thinking 'good riddance'."

Her joking laugh did not seem to have any desired effects.

It was then that guests began pouring in, and the club was obliged to put away the solemn impressions and serve the guests using their typical fake fronts. When Tamaki managed to be seated beside Kyouya, he made a harsh whisper,

"Kyouya, are you not going to do anything?"

Kyouya pushed his glasses and sighed.

"Tamaki, what _can_ I do?"

* * *

Natsu surfed the net absentmindedly, looking at online old newspaper out of utter boredom. She no longer had work to occupy herself with. She had just finished her end-of-the-year exams, on which Haruhi and the twins probably beat her by one or two marks. Kyouya had ceased to assign work since his confession, and they had not interacted properly (with the exception of the moose incident) in roughly a month. She was to leave for France in less than three days, and her brain was in a scattered state that she could not be in command of.

She continuously and silently berated Kyouya for not doing _anything_. It was as if he had degraded into one of the normal human beings and not detecting anything unusual. For crying out loud, the _Ootori firm_ was at risk and _Ootori Kyouya_ had no clue! How possible was that? Natsu shook her head fiercely and typed in random searches on the site. Her heart began beating wildly when she thought of the set departure. She was so afraid! What would she see, the moment she enters France? Responsibilities, endless work, an obnoxious husband, and –

The Eiffel Tower.

She pounded her head with her fist and cursed herself for remembering. It did not work. It only made her remember more. When she forced herself to stare at the screen, the corner of her eyes caught a wilted rose which stood in an exquisite vase beside her computer. She grunted and stood up, taking the rose and shoving it into her closet. Then she returned to the computer and continued to read.

Then tears fell.

Sobs set in not long after that.

She began to realize what a terrible mistake she had made in not confiding in Ootori Kyouya. It rendered her terribly lonely. Only then had she felt her inner cravings for him to pull her out of this misery, and her hidden hopes that he'd find the right thing to do and save her from the horrendous engagement. But it was all too late. What's done is done.

Suddenly, amidst her tears, she caught sight of an interesting headline flashing at her on her computer monitor. She blinked and wiped the tears away, as she clicked briefly on the headline. Her eyes widened as she continued to read the article, her heart beating faster at every word. When she had finished, she slumped back at her chair, stunned and stupefied.

There it was. Her perfect passage of escape.

But there was not sufficient evidence! She gritted her teeth and reread the article carefully. A name caught her eye. That was the name of the person she needed to find. But how in God's name was she going to find him?

An idea danced briefly in her brain and she was appalled by it. The dread didn't last very long, for she was perfectly confident in her abilities.

_Fondation Larocque's secret archive on their website._

Akazawa Natsu, a.k.a. Tooyama Natsuki, pulled away from the computer and smirked.

She was going to commit one last, ultimate act of glorious theft, betting her future, her happiness, and possibly her life.

* * *

**Yue: **Yep, one last, ultimate act of theft, and the next chapter will be the one last, ultimate chapter – with a wee epilogue coming later, though.  
As this is about to end and I shall tearfully part with you in respects to _this_ fic, I'll be tearfully happy if you leave me some **reviews **:'D!


	18. Revelations

**Disclaimer: **Please get the idea that I do not own Ouran.

**Yue: **About the crime-related portion of this chapter… I could only credit it to watching too much Detective Conan at the end of June -.-. If it's very crippled and lame (which it is), please be aware that this is merely a paltry Fanfiction about Ouran, in which anything is possible XD!  
But this is it! This is the end of the big thing. There's only **one wee epilogue** left for you to wait for! Then my gigantic Ouran project will be _finished_ T.T! Thanks to everyone who supported me and reviewed. I seriously love you all T.T! Now all I can say is: enjoy the insanity.

PS: **Links to two separate sketches of Natsu are now on my profile!** I apologize for the first one being terribly coloured. I'm bad at colouring on the computer.

* * *

Luxury 18 – Revelations

When the end-of-the-year assembly of the Ouran High School commenced, the sky was exceptionally dark and rain poured and dominated. Occasionally, there was lightning and thunder. Kyouya, dressed in a formal black tuxedo, stared impassively out of a fancy window on the corridor.

_Natsuki. I'm counting on you._

He then proceeded to rejoin the other members of the Host Club, who were apparently all discussing just _how_ Natsu was going to survive on a _plane_ in this weather. They then proceeded into the assembly hall. It was breathtakingly decorated, with all the luxury one could ever imagine, stunning even the Host Club members. Many parents were present; the Tooyamas and Ootori Yoshio were examples. Tables of food arranged themselves amidst the hall, luring the students and parents to help themselves. A merry atmosphere floated about. Everything was proceeding just like a normal social gathering.

The Host Club was gathered around a five-layered cake and was about to indulge on it when Chairman Suoh spoke at the microphone. The hall quieted down.

The Chairman cleared his throat and began,

"Welcome, all, to the Ouran High School's year-end assembly. Yet another has passed, and we have achieved many unusual excellencies as usual."

The audience laughed.

"I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for supporting Ouran, and I would like to reveal to you that starting from today, I will no longer be the Chairman of the school."

A majority of the audience was caught by surprise, and murmurs dominated for what seemed like the longest time, until Chairman Suoh spoke again,

"My stay in Ouran has been an excellent one, but I am certain that its future fate will be just as exciting. Please join me in our welcomes of our new Chairman of next year, Monsieur Jean Larocque."

Larocque stood up from his seat with a smirk, and was about to take the microphone when the large iron door of the hall suddenly burst open.

The audience looked with surprise towards it, and with a perfectly-timed lightning the Host Club made out, with astonishment, the figure of Akazawa Natsu. She was dripping wet with rain, her T-shirt and her Capri's loosely thrown over her, her hair irregular and all over her face. But her eyes wore an unmistakable light of defiance, hatred and confidence, as she stepped closer down the entryway amidst dubious murmurs.

"That man is not fit to be the next Chairman of Ouran High School." She said firmly and raised her right hand to point, with an antagonizing air, at Larocque's nose. The murmurs in the audience increased. Hunny yelped Natsu's name and tried to run towards her, but Mori restrained him. Another voice, instead, approached her.

"You!" Mr. Tooyama looked at his daughter, face distorted with an interesting mix of expressions, "Your plane should've left twenty minutes ago!"

"I know," she replied blankly, "But I felt obliged to return upon finding some… interesting information."

Kyouya let out an unnoticeable smirk.

Larocque shouted unhappily at his fiancée, demanding an explanation. Natsu shrugged and smirked pointedly at his face, "You will get one."

She cleared her throat and began,

"Five years ago, there was a prominent new medical firm in France called _LaFontaine_."

She perceived Larocque blanche, and smirked more.

"The head of that firm, Monsieur Edmond Lafontaine, was very good friends with your father, Monsieur Edouard Larocque. Then one day, out of the blue, your father suggested that Monsieur Lafontaine invest in a new cargo business on which he had set eyes. He had stated the reasonable benefits that would be received if such a business was to succeed. Monsieur Lafontaine, having trusted your father greatly, promptly agreed, and invested a considerable amount of his firm assets on this investment. Incidentally, the plane carrying a majority of the cargo was shot down by an unidentified fighter jet, and the stocks of the company plummeted. Monsieur Lafontaine had lost four fifth of his assets, and could no longer support his firm. His firm was eventually bought by your father and merged with Fondation Larocque, which rendered it the largest in France."

More murmurs. Natsu paused and toyed with Larocque's expressions. The latter, though surprised that a girl of such young age could be so acquainted with such affairs, was not yet much moved. "And your point, Akazawa Natsu? It is very coincidental, I say, but you cannot possibly be blaming my father for the downfall of Lafontaine, can you?"

"Certainly not. I haven't yet finished the story. Five days after LaFontaine was merged with Fondation Larocque, Monsieur and Madame Lafontaine were found dead. Monsieur Lafontaine seemed to have hanged himself, and Madame Lafontaine seemed to have poisoned herself with potassium cyanide. Their young son Pierre Lafontaine, who was known to be a child genius, had mysteriously disappeared. The case was treated as a double suicide, and authorities are still looking for Pierre. He is to be declared dead in two years. Incidentally, because the Lafontaines had no other relatives, all their assets, which included a supercomputer containing vital data of medical discoveries made by the Lafontaines, were assimilated by Edouard Larocque."

Larocque was beginning to feel uneasy. "Not surprising. Having lost their source of income, it is only natural for the Lafontaines to seek death. This has nothing to do with us."

"Sure," Natsu shrugged, "Until I say that you murdered them."

"Aah, so that _was _it," Kyouya mumbled thoughtfully as the rest of the Host Club looked to him with a suspicious squint.

The murmurs exploded into a loud commotion. The Lafontaine affair was known to many families in Ouran, for it caused quite a turmoil when the news was first released. The affair has always been treated as a suicide, and yet here stood a bold sixteen-year-old, declaring in front of an entire school that it was a murder. The hall only quieted down when Larocque laughed his shrilly laugh.

"Akazawa Natsu, you're a child. You think just standing there and babbling nonsense in front of a school would revert professionals' judgments done five years ago. Why don't you stop embarrassing yourself and go to France obediently? You have zero evidence, and you're rendering me quite annoyed by the minute."

"But I _do_ have evidence," Natsu interrupted, her smirk only widening. The crowd watched her quietly as she turned to the door and said into the shadows, "Please come in."

A figure entered. His clothes were considerably shabby compared to the rest of Ouran. He was thin and petit. His light blond straw-like hair swayed with him with each step. His eyes seemed to have no emotion. He was pale. He walked towards Natsu and held up his head defiantly and spitefully at Larocque. The latter opened his mouth and backed off in horror, pointing at the face of this teenager as he screamed in hysterics,

"Pierre Lafontaine! It can't be! I locked you up in a damp dungeon in Osaka and - " he cut off drastically and turned paler. The hall once again exploded, struck by the fact that Jean Larocque, the son of the tycoon Edouard Larocque, had just _admitted_ to personally imprisoning the supposedly-dead child prodigy Lafontaine.

Pierre Lafontaine fixated his scattered gaze at his mortal enemy and began, his voice scratchy and weary. "I know, Jean Larocque – it's been five years since I've seen the sky. You have made these years hellish, you and the other Larocques. You murdered my parents and forced me to aid with the medical discoveries which you later claimed yours. You have no idea how hard it was to break out of that dungeon and find the right person to talk to. I'm glad I can finally talk to you in broad daylight."

Larocque shook in fear, his face distorted in anger, "Well, you have no concrete evidence! For all we know, _you_ could be the bitter one trying to frame the Larocques, because you're sour that what was supposed to be _yours_ ended up in _our_ hands!"

Pierre's stare turned colder. "Incidentally, the day on which you and your father intruded our house, I successfully completed a fun invention that embeds a mini-camera into a shirt button."

Larocque froze in horror. He turned even more rigid as Pierre reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, worn button of a child's shirt. "I have preserved it carefully. Do you want to watch the video?"

The hall was utterly silent as everyone's eyes fixated on Larocque. It continued like so for a while, until Larocque burst in frantic laughter.

"What does it matter? This is Japan, not France. We're in a _damned_ high school. With a snap of my fingers, I could destroy it. I could destroy _you_, Pierre Lafontaine. Anyone who dares utter a thing to the authority, I could destroy on my whims. There's no media, no police, _nothing_ can - "

"You may be wrong about that, Monsieur Larocque." A voice echoed in the hall, and to Natsu's very great surprise she recognized it as Kyouya's. Her eyes flew involuntarily to his direction, and saw that he was smirking. "Incidentally, I have taken the trouble to invite a few reporters, and - "

Larocque paled as the few reporters emerged from the crowd, holding mini-cameras and tape recorders. He jerked even more as sirens suddenly sounded outside the door.

" – some of Ootori firm's police friends." Kyouya finished off. Natsu's jaw dropped in indignity.

_Whoa. Nice one _there_, Kyouya-senpai…_

The hall boiled in excitement as policemen entered and seized Larocque. The said man's face was utterly distorted when he was taken off of the podium of the hall towards the door. Pierre Lafontaine was obliged to go with them to testify. But before he followed the police, he turned to Natsu, and there was a small smile on his face as he whispered,

"Thank you, Tooyama Natsuki. You're the best phantom thief I've ever seen."

Natsu responded with a sincere smile of her own. "This'll be the last time I ever steal, you can be assured of that."

"Good. So I won't rat you out to the police." Pierre gave a small chuckle, "For all I know, the world will flip if you decide to fall on the wrong track."

With that he winked and followed the police, but an excessively loud growl coming from Larocque stopped him, for it greatly startled not only him, but everyone.

"Akazawa Natsu, no, Tooyama Natsuki, you must too be punished for hiding your true gender from your entire _school_! Everyone, this person whom you all think of as a boy in the despicable _Host Club_ is actually a _girl_!"

Natsu sighed and massaged the side of her head as she heard more commotion, especially coming from the girls. Man, he _really_ wanted to drag her down with him – but sadly, that reason was not good enough to get her in jail. She opened her mouth to explain when another voice suddenly took over, and with great astonishment she recognized it as Haruhi's,

"She's not the only one."

Amidst Tamaki and the twins' protests, Haruhi walked towards Natsu with a smile on her face and, at the latter's utter stupefaction, held tightly onto her hand. The girls of the school seemed to realize the significance of the phrase uttered, for the astonished whispers increased.

Haruhi turned to Larocque and fired defensively, "First of all, we had never intended to conceal our gender. If you check out our school records, we're both registered as female. If the rest of the school could not see our femininity, it's not our fault. Second of all, the Host Club exists to make people happy, and gender does not really matter when it comes to happiness. Why do you think the Zuka Club is so popular, after all?"

"Oi, oi," Natsu interrupted dryly, "As much as I appreciate your help… did you have to bring up the _Zuka Club_?"

"Either way," Haruhi laughed and shrugged, "We have good intentions in keeping quiet, since we do not want to disrupt the dreams of our peers. We intend to make people happy. You intend to render people miserable, Monsieur Larocque, and that intention is not honourable. Essentially, you have no right to accuse us."

Larocque tried to rebuke, but nothing came out. Amidst tearful applauses made by the faithful devotees to the Host Club, he was vexed by the fact that he was stomped by a girl whom he didn't even know the name of. Natsu's eyes widened as she stared at Haruhi in disbelief, while Larocque was dragged out of the hall by the police, "Whoa, Haruhi, I never knew you had such a cool side to you!"

"Coolness is the least to display when my best friend is in distress," Haruhi hugged her and smiled. "You were infinitely cooler, though, when you explained the whole crime in front of the audience! And your dramatic entrance! There was a flash of lightening that was just in time!"

Natsu was about to reply when their voices were joined by a third, unhappy one of Mr. Tooyama. "While you ladies there seem rather happy with the turnout, I must confess that I am not. Natsuki, a word."

Natsu's smile receded. She signaled Haruhi to retreat and turned to her father.

Mr. Tooyama inspected his daughter tiredly. "Why did you do that, Natsuki?"

"For the happiness of many people." She replied, "And it was the best way to resolve things without affecting the Tooyama firm."

"But you have just lost Tooyama firm a chance to peak in the world, and if you haven't noticed, you have lost _me_ my wife."

It was then that Natsu noticed that Mrs. Tooyama was no longer in the room.

She replied impassively, "In a way, she killed my mother. I don't care about what happens to you two. As long as she's out of my sight, I'm perfectly happy."

Mr. Tooyama looked stonily at his daughter before a sigh escaped his mouth.

"Natsuki, you are no longer my daughter. Do you understand?"

Natsu looked incredulously at her father, wondering just how much he preferred _that woman_ to her own hardworking mother. When she spoke, she too sounded very tired.

"I understand, Tooyama-san."

She watched as one who was her father walked out of the door, and when she decided to turn she was surprised by Hunny's random jump at her waist, "Yay, Na-chan! You're no longer going to France!"

"Hunny-senpai!" She laughed and gave him a pat on the head and returned Mori's nod gratefully. The Hitachiins came jumping at her next, then Tamaki, then Haruhi.

"Natsu, pretty cool act right there! You're gonna be quite famous now!"

"Shut it, Hikaru or Kaoru. Fame is the last thing I need."

"I hafta admit that Haruhi was cooler though."

"Now, the other one of Hikaru or Kaoru, _that's _something I agree with."

"I think both Haru-chan and Na-chan were pretty cool, ne Takashi?"

"Yes."

"Natsu, you should go change! You can't stay in those wet clothes much longer! We saved you a costume in the Third Music Room."

"Aww, even though you knew I might never be here again? Thanks guys! Then I'll be off."

"Yes, go sister Natsu! Your brother shall not like it very much if you catch a cold!"

Natsu broke loose from the Host Club when her eyes met Kyouya's. He was giving her a smile from the distance, but that was enough for her as she smiled back.

_The Host Club's happiness must be preserved at all costs._

Chairman Suoh watched the club from the podium and smiled. "Looks like I'll continue to be the Chairman after all."

* * *

Natsu was surprised when, freshly changed, she realized that the first person she cast eyes on was Ootori Yoshio. The old man appeared to be have been waiting for her outside the Third Music Room. She was baffled at first, but she did not hesitate to offer a friendly bow. "Ootori Yoshio-sama. Thank you."

Yoshio seemed surprised by this random show of gratitude. He proceeded to be even more surprised when Natsu explained with a smile, "You've been protecting my auction account, haven't you?"

The old man raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that, Tooyama Natsuki?"

Natsu explained politely, "I set it up with some invasion tracking software, and I saw that I've been attacked quite a few times by Fondation Larocque. The attacks were fended off by someone with an unknown IP address. I did some work with my tracker and found that it came from the Ootori mansion."

Yoshio remained impassive. "What makes you think it's me?"

Natsu's smile widened. Kyouya definitely takes after him. "For one thing, if it were Kyouya-senpai, he had no need to conceal it from me. Ootori-sama, I was sure you had recognized me when I showed up in your family presentation as Oou Tsunami, had you not?"

There was a pause. Then Yoshio dictated simply with the same flat voice,

"I see my younger self in you."

Natsu lowered her head and contemplated the words in pensive silence. Then she bowed politely again and said, "Thank you very much for giving me a chance, Ootori-sama."

Yoshio nodded briefly. "Thank _you_ for ridding the world of the Larocques, however you managed to do it." His eyes picked up a figure at the corner of the corridor, as he shrugged and began to walk off, "I see that my son intends to speak with you, Tooyama Natsuki. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Ootori Yoshio-sama." Natsu bowed and watched warmly as the man walked out of her sight. She had not only misjudged Ootori Kyouya, but also his father. How could she have been so stupid and ignorant? She sighed as she shook her head amusedly.

She heard a figure step out from the corner, and she turned around to face him with a bitter chuckle.

"…My future has been utterly destroyed. You'd better make me feel it's worth it, Kyouya-senpai."

Kyouya was wearing his usual smirk as he shrugged, "What made you think your future has been destroyed?"

"God, you actually sound _just_ like your father! I'm no longer of the Tooyama family, senpai. I figured that you would've figured when you saw my father storm away like he did."

Kyouya shrugged again and let the subject drop temporarily, only to begin another one, "Natsuki, you'll probably want to kill me if I tell you now that I had known everything all along."

Natsu's eyes widened as she scratched her ear in incredulity. "What! And you didn't do anything to get me out of my misery?"

"I was merely thinking that _you_ should be the one to end this."

"Kyouya-senpai, that's a _stupid_ reason!" Natsu fired, feeling like she was reliving the moose incident, "If you could've done about _half_ of what I've done, I would not have been disowned by my own father!"

Kyouya's smirk became creepier as he inched closer. "Then what if I tell you that it was all a _plan_?"

"Huh?" The poor, clueless Natsu blinked in confusion, "_You_ had a plan too?"

"Certainly. You didn't actually think I only _happened_ to invite those reporters and the police, did you?"

Natsu blinked numerous times and thought over the matter. Then her eyes widened knowingly and she pointed with a dropped jaw at Kyouya, void of words.

"Yep, I was leaving the glory _all_ to you, and only cleaning up the bits you didn't have time to think of." It was then that Kyouya's Shadow King self began to reemerge. He was almost smirking from ear to ear!

"Kyouya-senpai! That's _beyond stupid_! Did you know how much I had to go through to find out all that information? You could've at least _told_ me that you knew and stuff - "

"But only you could've done it, Natsuki. Did you think it possible for _me_ to hack into the highest security in Fondation Larocque, find out Pierre Lafontaine's whereabouts, find out detailed information on whatever dungeon he was in, and rescue him from that probably well-guarded dungeon? I'm about ten thousand times more resourceful than you are, Natsuki, but I'm far from a phantom thief. So I was obliged to put all my faith in you. Not that it was difficult to accomplish, since I have trusted you ever since those fateful times we have spent conversing in the Ouran Infirmary, when I have discovered that you're much more of an idiot than I had ever imagined."

Natsu knew that he was telling the truth, but his oily smirk really irked her. She pouted and twisted her head to the side, asking with a small, evading voice, "Then it was in your expectations that I - "

"Pretty much," Kyouya did not wait for her to finish. "It was all a plan to tear you away from the binds of the Tooyama firm and make you fall into _my_ clutches. And doubtlessly I have succeeded. Since you have now returned to the Shadow King's evil claws, the Shadow King shall never let you out of his grasp again." He erased the smirk and replaced it with a pure smile, as he walked towards his precious assistant and encircled his arms around her waist, causing her to look up in alarm,

"Natsuki, I want you to know now that you _have_ a future – with _me_."

Natsu's rate of heartbeat quickened as she tried to reply but could not, since her lips were then sealed with a kiss. When they pulled apart, Natsu was beyond flushed. "Senpai, next time, warn me when you spontaneously decide to be romantic!"

Kyouya stared amusedly into his assistant's eyes, his smirk returning upon seeing her thus easily discomposed. "But you always _enjoy_ my… err, romantic whims, do you not?"

"#&$^&*$..." was the response, accompanied by more uncontrolled waves of dangerous fists and some steam coming off of the poor assistant's head.

"By the way, Natsuki, I have another request to make."

He got a grudging, gruff and somewhat shy "What is it".

"I would prefer it that you return to the status of a slave to me, and stay that way forever."

Natsu's head snapped up at the ridiculousness of this request and was about fire back with much repulsion when something in that phrase seized her, and she turned to a different angle with a scowl,

"Kyouya-senpai, _do you realize what you have just asked me_?"

"Hallelujah, there is an end to your obtuseness after all. Natsuki, believe me, if I didn't know what I were asking for, I wouldn't be asking it."

The Shadow King watched with a smirk as Natsu began speaking gibberish all of a sudden, waving her arms in her usual hysterics. When she made her response in the tiniest voice that a human could manage, however, Kyouya did not miss it.

"I wouldn't think of refusing for the world."

* * *

If you go to the Ouran High School and enter the Third Music Room, you'd find loads of amazing phenomena to dwell on.

For one thing at least, you'd wonder why they were just so happy.

Especially since they were parting with two of their beloved members in merely a few days.

And that was not being discussed at all.

There were merely roses. Perfume. Luxury. Boys with two exceptions. It is in this room that the Ouran High School Host Club continues with its endless stories, its wild antics, and its crippled methods to enlighten others' lives.

"Welcome!"

* * *

**Yue: **XD Did anyone happen to catch _all_ my "conclusion by return"s ;D?  
Again, thanks so much to everyone for supporting me! Keep on waiting for the wee epilogue XD, I promise you it won't be a long wait. So since this has pretty much ended, some kind **reviews** on the whole story would be much appreciated :'D!


	19. Epilogue: Reconciliation

**Disclaimer: **As this is the very end, if you still haven't gotten the idea yet that I don't own Ouran, please do. NOW.

**Yue: **I will not blab much up here except ENJOY!  
And thankies to all the lovely reviews I received :'D. I really love you all!

PS: I wonder if anyone happened to catch the **proposal** of sorts in the last chapter...? XD I was worrying if I might've shielded it too much and driven it too far away from the typical "will you marry me".

* * *

Epilogue: Reconciliation

"Kyouya-senpai, you seriously could've _warned_ me."

Natsu shook her head hopelessly, finding it incredible still that she was apparently on Kyouya's _private jet_ on the way to Venice. Sipping tea casually in an elaborate chair, Kyouya, however, seemed unmoved. "I did not think I needed to _warn_ my beloved of a much-anticipated trip to Italy, Natsuki."

"…It was anything _but_ much anticipated, senpai. You suggested it only last week!"

"If I had suggested it, then it was much anticipated. Do you seriously think I'll relinquish some precious time to spend with my beloved abroad when I'm about to graduate in a week?"

Natsu chose to be silent, since she quite liked that explanation. But being her, the silence was soon forgotten about and her complaints resumed. "But Kyouya-senpai, you could've waited a bit. Hunny-senpai _promised_ me that he'll come and visit tomorrow with Mori-senpai, and now I have to call them and tell them and wait till summer before I could see them! And Pierre Lafontaine's letter is probably waiting for me in my mailbox right now! Do _you_ not want to know how Pierre is coping with his new status as the CEO of the Nouveau LaFontaine? He'd spent _so_ long cleaning up the mess of Fondation Larocque and he could _finally_ start on his newest project!"

Kyouya shrugged, "Only better. First of all, you should really move into the Ootori mansion soon and relinquish the auction account. That way you don't have to worry about your own separate mailbox. And then, do you not know how much it vexes me to see you communicate with Hunny-senpai and Pierre Lafontaine? What if you accidentally fall in love with one of them?"

Natsu rolled her eyes and retorted dryly, "Like _you_ should be saying that to me. For pretty much the last 365 days, I had to _watch_ as you were practically swarmed at daily by fifty girls. If I were anyone else, Kyouya-senpai, you'd probably have earned quite a few slaps in the face by now."

The Shadow King smirked and shrugged again, "But you're _not_ anyone else, and you know that I love nobody but you."

"Then you have no right to _assume_ that I'll just fall in love randomly with Hunny-senpai or Pierre Lafontaine."

Kyouya chuckled and took another casual sip of his tea. "I love how that even after a year, I'm still much more direct than you are in regards to expressing special sentiments."

Natsu blushed. "Shut up, Kyouya-senpai."

"Oh, did my slave just say 'shut up' to me? That's so - "

"…Forget it, I was talking to my inner self."

Kyouya was about to reply when the two were then informed that the jet was about to land.

* * *

"Wow!"

Natsu clapped her hands with a big grin as she cast her eyes on the beautiful square before her, filled with tourists, pigeons, elegant fountains and marvelous architecture. Kyouya smiled as he watched her childish reaction of repeatedly jumping up and down exclaiming "I love Venice". With much amusement, he spoke,

"Why don't you occupy yourself with the St Mark's Square for now, as I have to go settle a business of the Ootori firm's?"

Natsu turned around and responded, "Aah, the one with that old dude who had Santa-like beard?"

Kyouya could not help but smile more at the overly simplified description. "Yes, that. As you know, that business is not strenuous enough as to require the presence of you. I'll be back in two hours. Enjoy the scenery, Natsuki."

Natsu nodded obediently and then proceeded to say at Kyouya's leaving back, "Be careful, Kyouya-senpai!"

When she saw a brief wave from him and knew that he had heard her, she turned around with utter satisfaction to study the Square. There were so many pigeons! What a pity she didn't have any bread with her. She walked towards the center of the square and continued to marvel at the amount of tourists, the refreshing air, and the amazing architecture. There was a fountain that she was especially fond of, and –

Wait a second.

Natsu squinted with disbelief at a figure sitting at the fountain. She shook her head three times in incredulity. When she looked again and saw that figure wave at her, she knew she could not be mistaken.

It was the figure of Tooyama Takaki.

With a short pause of hesitation, she shyly made her way to his direction. When she arrived and stopped in front of him, he gave a nod and she an awkward greeting, "Fa – I mean, Tooyama-san."

He looked so old and tired. So much of his hair had turned white and he was so thin! The more Natsu looked at him, the more she did not want to look. She could not believe that she had caused this.

"Sit down, Natsuki." Mr. Tooyama instructed, and Natsu readily obeyed. A long silence ensued, and then Mr. Tooyama spoke again.

"I had taken your mother here once."

Natsu twitched and stared at her father in alarm.

"It was not long before you were born," Mr. Tooyama continued, with a bitter smile on the face, "She wanted to see Venice so eagerly. Chimed everyday at my ear about it. I've never seen her laugh harder than she did when she first set eyes on St Mark's Square."

Another pause.

"I was a fool, Natsuki. I let her fall to the clutches of _that woman_. I didn't realize the precious existence of her until she was eternally lost to me. But I was under the illusions provided by _that woman_. Natsuki, you have to understand that she was a _master_ seductress." His voice became more agitated, but he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Natsu remained silent.

"Natsuki, you're so lucky. You're so much like your mother, and sometimes I worry that you'll fade into the background in everyone's minds, just like she did. But you have Ootori Kyouya. Perhaps you didn't know that I dropped by in Ouran once after that incident last year. I saw that he valued you so much, Natsuki. He is smart, quite a bit smarter than I was. Take a break, Natsuki. Hold on to one of the few men in this world who could truly see you for what you are. You're no longer fated to walk alone, Natsuki, and you should stop continuing to do so."

Natsu looked with great surprised into the eyes of her father. What had she done, leaving him to the entire Tooyama firm alone – she was young and he was old. He needed family to support him. She began to feel tears prick the back of her eyes. But that turned into increasing surprise when she heard a feminine voice approach her, one that she only recognized too well,

"Nee-sama?"

She flung around violently to see the figure of Tooyama Kahoko, now much more beautiful and outgoing than the young girl that once shied away in Lobelia. "Kaho! You - "

"I decided to be under the custody of Otou-sama, after Okaa-sama insisted on divorcing him," Kahoko smiled and automatically continued to her explanations. "I figured that Otou-sama needed me more than Okaa-sama did."

Mr. Tooyama nodded, unable to hide the hint of gratitude in his eyes. "As you probably know, Natsuki, the headquarters of the Tooyama firm have been moved to Italy. Kahoko has been aiding me with many of the administrative affairs and she has been quite helpful. We are to begin partnership with the largest medical firm in Italy in a week, and we're prospering at a very quick rate."

"Yes. We're very close to reaching prominence in Italy. Then we'll begin expanding our branches in Japan." Kahoko confirmed with a gleaming confidence that somehow reminded Natsu of herself. The girl beamed at her elder sister and asked, with an earnest tone which nobody could refuse, "As you're now part of the Ootori firm, Nee-sama, we'll eventually be business partners, right?"

Natsu nodded and smiled sincerely at the good news, reaching for Kahoko's hands and gripping them tight.

"Kaho, thank you – for being much better a daughter than I am."

Kahoko's tears fell as she merely looked with much emotion into the eyes of her stepsister. A long pause.

"No."

Both girls were startled when Mr. Tooyama suddenly stood up, his eyes firm with fatherly love and pride.

"You're both my excellent daughters, Tooyama Natsuki and Tooyama Kahoko."

* * *

When Kyouya returned from his business, he found Natsu waiting for him with a wistful smile. He detected that something was different. He could not quite capture what it was, but he knew that such a change would only bring forth more happiness. The change was mostly in her eyes – they seemed less defiant and stubborn. He wondered at what could possibly have changed them, but not long passed before he decided that he really didn't care. He simply gave a smile full of love as his Natsuki trotted towards him and attached herself obediently onto his arm,

"Let's go, Kyouya-senpai."

* * *

"By the way, I have decided to relinquish my auction account and put myself entirely at your disposal."

"Oh? What made you change your mind?"

"Nothing you should be aware of."

"Whatever. Then we're moving your stuff into the Ootori mansion the moment we land in Japan."

"What! Can't we at least wait for, like, a week? Or two weeks, maybe? The apartment brings back so many memories!"

"No. I want you. In my mansion. In _my portion_ of the mansion. Soon. As soon as possible."

"…Good Gawd, Kyouya-senpai, you're creepy."

And so ends the story of Akazawa Natsu and begins the life of Tooyama Natsuki.

* * *

**Yue: **With this last loose end tied up - this is it: the (kinda evil) end of _Of Stealing and Slavery_. There will probably not be a sequel, as I have already tied up _all_ the loose ends and ended it in a way that is terribly difficult to continue with. But if one day my whims seize me, I may feel inclined to write one XD. Please vote in my profile with your opinion on the existence of a sequel! Thank you so much to everyone who had supported me with your kind **reviews**! It's been a fun ride XD. I love you all!


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